by Lola Ridge (1873 - 1941)
Electrocution
Language: English
He shudders — feeling on the shaven spot The probing wind, that stabs him to a thought Of storm-drenched fields in a white foam of light, And roads of his hill-town that leap to sight Like threads of tortured silver ... while the guards — Monstrous deft dolls that move as on a string, In wonted haste to finish with this thing, Turn faces blanker than asphalted yards. They heard the shriek that tore out of its sheath But as a feeble moan ... yet dared not breathe, Who stared there at him, arching — like a tree When the winds wrench it and the earth holds tight — Whose soul, expanding in white agony, Had fused in flaming circuit with the night.
Authorship:
- by Lola Ridge (1873 - 1941), "Electrocution" [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 Ned Rorem (1923 - 2022), "Electrocution", from Women's Voices, no. 10 [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2021-01-27
Line count: 14
Word count: 123