by William Butler Yeats (1865 - 1939)
The Mother of God
Language: English
The threefold terror of love; a fallen flare Through the hollow of an ear; Wings beating about the room; The terror of all terrors that I bore The Heavens in my womb. Had I not found content among the shows Every common woman knows, Chimney corner, garden walk, Or rocky cistern where we tread the clothes And gather all the talk? What is this flesh I purchased with my pains, This fallen star my milk sustains, This love that makes my heart's blood stop Or strikes a Sudden chill into my bones And bids my hair stand up?
Text Authorship:
- by William Butler Yeats (1865 - 1939), "The Mother of God", appears in Words for Music Perhaps and Other Poems, first published 1932 [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 Manuel Pedro Ferreira (b. 1959), "The Mother of God", 1998 [ SATB chorus ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Jonathan Harvey (1939 - 2012), "The Mother of God", published 1968 [ soprano, baritone, SATB chorus, and chamber orchestra ], from Cantata I [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-01-20
Line count: 15
Word count: 98