by Vachel Lindsay (1879 - 1931)
The amaranth
Language: English
Ah, in the night, all music haunts me here. . . . Is it for naught high Heaven cracks and yawns And the tremendous Amaranth descends Sweet with the glory of ten thousand dawns? Does it not mean my God would have me say: -- "Whether you will or no, O city young, Heaven will bloom like one great flower for you, Flash and loom greatly all your marts among?" Friends, I will not cease hoping though you weep. Such things I see, and some of them shall come Though now our streets are harsh and ashen-gray, Though our strong youths are strident now, or dumb. Friends, that sweet town, that wonder-town, shall rise. Naught can delay it. Though it may not be Just as I dream, it comes at last I know With streets like channels of an incense-sea.
Text Authorship:
- by Vachel Lindsay (1879 - 1931), "The amaranth", appears in The Congo and Other Poems, first published 1925 [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 John H. Harbison (b. 1938), "The amaranth" [baritone, six-part chorus, instrumental ensemble (7 instruments)], from The Flower-Fed Buffaloes, no. 5. [text not verified]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2010-10-30
Line count: 16
Word count: 139