by Kevin John William Crossley-Holland (b. 1941)
The deep sea suckled me, the waves...
Language: English
The deep sea suckled me, the waves sounded over me; Rollers were my coverlet as I rested on my bed. I have no feet, and frequently open my mouth To the flood. Sooner or later some man will Consume me, who cares nothing for my shell. With the point of his knife he will pierce me through, Ripping the skin away from my side, and straight away Eat me uncooked as I am . . . The answer: An Oyster.
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Text Authorship:
- by Kevin John William Crossley-Holland (b. 1941), "Oyster", after the Old English of The Exeter Book. [author's text not yet checked 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 Arthur Edward Drummond Bliss, Sir (1891 - 1975), "An oyster", published 1964, first performed 1963 [ baritone and instrumental ensemble ], from A knot of riddles, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Ted Perry
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 9
Word count: 80