by Sara Teasdale (1884 - 1933)
A maiden
Language: English
Oh if I were the velvet rose
Upon the red rose vine,
I'd climb to touch his window
And make his casement fine.
And if I were the [little]1 bird
That twitters on the tree,
All day I'd sing my love for him
Till he should harken me.
But since I am a maiden
I go with downcast eyes,
And he will never hear the songs
That he has turned to sighs.
And since I am a maiden
My love will never know
That I could kiss him with a mouth
More red than roses blow.
View original text (without footnotes)
1 Sowash: "bright-eye'd"
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
1 Sowash: "bright-eye'd"
Text Authorship:
- by Sara Teasdale (1884 - 1933), "A maiden", appears in Helen of Troy and Other Poems, first published 1911 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Fay Foster (1886 - 1960), "A maiden", published 1918 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Rick Sowash (b. 1950), "A maiden", 1980 [ soprano and cello ], from Bright April, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-06-04
Line count: 16
Word count: 97