by Cordelia Ray (1852 - 1916)
Aspiration
Language: English
We climb the slopes of life with throbbing heart, And eager pulse, like children toward a star. Sweet siren music cometh from afar, To lure us on meanwhile. Responsive start The nightingales to richer song than Art Can ever teach. No passing shadows mar Awhile the dewy skies; no inner jar Of conflict bids us with our quest to part. We see adown the distance, rainbow-arched, What melting aisles of liquid light and bloom! We hasten, tremulous, with lips all parched, And eyes wide-stretched, nor dream of coming gloom. Enough that something held almost divine Within us ever stirs. Can we repine?
Text Authorship:
- by Cordelia Ray (1852 - 1916), "Aspiration" [author's text not yet checked 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 Andrea L. Reinkemeyer (b. 1976), "Aspiration", 2017/2018 [ women's chorus ], from From Cycles of Eternity, no. 1
Publisher: Andrea L. Reinkemeyer [external link] [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2026-11-06
Line count: 14
Word count: 102