The moon's greygolden meshes make
All night a veil,
The shorelamps in the sleeping lake
Laburnum tendrils trail.
The sly reeds whisper to the night
A name -- her name --
And all my soul is a delight,
A swoon of shame.
About the headline (FAQ)
First published in
Poetry, 1917
Text Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Carlos Botto Vallarino (1923 - 2004), "The moon's greygolden meshes", op. 12 no. 4 (1959-60) [ soprano and piano ], from Songs of Love and Solitude (Poemas de amor y soledad), no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Brian Boydell (1917 - 2000), "Alone", 1941 [ baritone and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Edgardo Carducci (1898 - 1967), "Alone", published 1933 [ voice and piano ], from The Joyce Book, no. 10 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by David Del Tredici (1937 - 2023), "Alone", 1959, rev. 1978, first performed 1983, from Two Songs on Poems of James Joyce, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Robin Field (b. 1935), "The moon's greygolden meshes make", 1967 [ tenor, oboe, and string quartet ], from The sly reeds whisper [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Gruen (b. 1927), "Alone" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Jack Marius Jarrett (b. 1934), "Alone", 1964 [ soprano or tenor and piano ], from The Unquiet Heart [sung text not yet checked]
- by Donald James Martino (1931 - 2005), "Alone", published 1970 [ soprano or baritone or tenor, and piano ], from Three songs, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Rick Sowash (b. 1950), "Alone", 1973 [ SATB chorus ] [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Seul", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [
Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 8
Word count: 40
Les mailles grises dorées de la lune font
Toute la nuit un voile,
Les lumières du rivage dans le lac qui dort
Traînent des vrilles de cytise.
Les roseaux rusés murmurent à la nuit
Un nom -- son nom --
Et toute mon âme est en délice,
Une pâmoison de honte.