by E. E. (Edward Estlin) Cummings (1894 - 1962)
thy fingers make early flowers
Language: English
thy fingers make early flowers of all things. thy hair mostly the hours love: a smothness which sings, saying (though love be a day) do not fear, we will go amaying. thy whitest feet crisply are straying. always thy moist eyes at kisses are playing, whose strangeness much says; singing (though love be a day) for which girl art thou flowers bringing? to be thy lips is a sweet thing and small. Death, thee i call rich beyond wishing if this thou catch, else missing. (though love be a day and life be nothing, it shall not stop kissing).
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Text Authorship:
- by E. E. (Edward Estlin) Cummings (1894 - 1962), no title, appears in Tulips and Chimneys, in 1. Tulips, in 1. Songs, no. 3, first published 1923 [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 William Laurence Bergsma (1921 - 1994), "Thy fingers make early flowers", published 1947 [ high voice and piano ], from Six Songs to Poems by E. E. Cummings, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Judith Cloud (1954 - 2023), "thy fingers make early flowers", copyright © 2009 [ high voice and piano ], from I Spill My Soul, no. 1, CloudWalk Press [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Celius Dougherty (1902 - 1986), "thy fingers make early flowers" [ voice and piano ], G. Schirmer/Hal Leonard [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Dan Welcher (b. 1948), "Thy fingers make early flowers", from Seven Songs, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Garrett Medlock [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 21
Word count: 99