by William Carlos Williams (1883 - 1963)
If I when my wife is sleeping
Language: English
If I when my wife is sleeping and the baby and Kathleen are sleeping and the sun is a flame-white disc in silken mists above shining trees, -- if I in my north room dance naked, grotesquely before my mirror waving my shirt round my head and singing softly to myself: "I am lonely, lonely. I was born to be lonely, I am best so!" If I admire my arms, my face, my shoulders, flanks, buttocks against the yellow drawn shades, -- Who shall say I am not the happy genius of my household?
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by William Carlos Williams (1883 - 1963), "Danse russe", appears in Al Que Quiero!, first published 1917 [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 Irwin Heilner (b. 1908), "Second rhapsody", published 1935 [tenor and piano four-hands], from New Music 8(4) [text not verified]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-08-31
Line count: 19
Word count: 92