Barbarians | I pause beside the stream and hear

by James Stephens (1882 - 1950)

Barbarians

Language: English

I pause beside the stream and hear 
The waters talking all the way ; 
If I had a proper ear 
I could tell you what they say. 

The lovely tree against the sky, 
Which the first sun rests upon, 
Has a message for my eye, 
If I had a proper one. 

On the heath I met a wind, 
It whispered to me as I stood ; 
If I had a proper mind 
I could answer, so I could. 

I am deaf and dumb and blind, 
No reply can I invent 
When a stream, a tree, a wind 
Asks am I intelligent.

Authorship:

by James Stephens (1882 - 1950), "Barbarians", appears in Songs from the Clay, first published 1915 [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 Walter Byron Mourant (1910 - 1995), "Barbarians", copyright © 1963 [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2009-01-22
Line count: 16
Word count: 101