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by James Stephens (1882 - 1950)

If the Moon had a hand
Language: English 
If the Moon had a hand 
I wonder would she 
Stretch it down unto me ? 
If she did, I would go 
To her glacier land, 
To her ice-covered strand.
I would run, I would fly, 
Were the cold ever so, 
And be warm in the snow. 
O Moon of all Light, 
Sailing far, sailing high 
In the infinite sky.
Do not come down to me, 
Lest I shriek in affright, 
Lest I die in the night 
Of your chill ecstasy. 

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • by James Stephens (1882 - 1950), "The Moon", appears in Here are Ladies, first published 1913 [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 Henry C. F. Castleman , "If the Moon", published <<1940 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2009-01-26
Line count: 16
Word count: 80

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