Where I used to be
I could hear the sea.
The black ragged palm fronds flung themselves against
the twilight sky.
The moon stared up from the water like a fish's eye.
I had the loneliness that sings.
It made me light and gave me wings.
Is it the dust and the iron railings and the blank red brick
That makes me sick?
There is no space to be lonely any more
And crumbling feet on a city street
Sound past the door.
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Confirmed with Evelyn Scott, Precipitations, 1920
Text Authorship:
- by Evelyn Scott (1893 - 1963), "Home Again", appears in Precipitations, first published 1920 [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 Rachel Devore Fogarty , "Home Again", 2017 [ high voice and piano ], from Space to be Lonely, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2025-10-07
Line count: 12
Word count: 83