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by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882)

Something left undone
Language: English 
Labor with what zeal we will,
  Something still remains undone,
Something uncompleted still
  Waits the rising of the sun. 
By the bedside, on the stair,
  At the threshold, near the gates,
With its menace or its prayer,
  Like a mendicant it waits; 
Waits, and will not go away;
  Waits, and will not be gainsaid;
By the cares of yesterday
  Each to-day is heavier made; 
Till at length the burden seems
  Greater than our strength can bear,
Heavy as the weight of dreams,
  Pressing on us everywhere. 
And we stand from day to day,
  Like the dwarfs of times gone by,
Who, as Northern legends say,
  On their shoulders held the sky. 

Text Authorship:

  • by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882), "Something left undone", appears in The Courtship of Miles Standish, and Other Poems, first published 1858 [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 Doyne Courtenay Bell (1831 - 1888), "Something left undone" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2008-06-24
Line count: 20
Word count: 111

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