by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886)
I reason, Earth is short —
Language: English
I reason, Earth is short — And Anguish — absolute — And many hurt, But, what of that? I reason, we could die — The best Vitality Cannot excel Decay, But, what of that? I reason, that in Heaven — Somehow, it will be even — Some new Equation, given — But, what of that?
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886), no title, appears in Poems of Emily Dickinson, first published 1890 [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 Scott Gendel (b. 1977), "I reason", 2005 [ voice and piano ], from Forgotten Light, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Michael Ippolito (b. 1985), "I reason, Earth is short —", 2014 [ solo voice ], from Peacock Presumes to Die!, no. 4, confirmed with a score [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Ezra Laderman (1924 - 2015), "I reason, Earth is short —", subtitle: "Melodrama", published 1970 [ 2 narrators, piano, and orchestra ], from Magic Prison [sung text not yet checked]
- by Scott Wheeler (b. 1952), "I reason, Earth is short", 1999 [ soprano and piano ], from Sunday Songs, no. 3, Scott Wheeler Music [sung text checked 1 time]
Research team for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Eric Saroian
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 55