by Francis Money-Coutts, 5th Baron Latymer (1852 - 1923)
The caterpillar
Language: English
Available translation(s): FRE
Caterpillar on the wall, Whither, whither do you crawl? You know not, yourself, methinks, Strange and wandering little sphinx! I will tell you where to go, Underneath the winter snow In an old tree's secret hole You shall hide your little soul. There, with summer, you shall [sleep]1, Thence, with summer you shall leap, Wave your fairy wings on high, Sip the flowers and kiss the sky. Emblem worm of many [a]2 thing, So the [poet's]3 mind can spring Through the hush of brooding hours, Kiss the sky and sip the flowers.
View original text (without footnotes)
1 Albéniz: "learn"
2 omitted by Albéniz
3 Albéniz: "joyous"
Researcher for this page: Jean-Pierre Granger
1 Albéniz: "learn"
2 omitted by Albéniz
3 Albéniz: "joyous"
Authorship:
- by Francis Money-Coutts, 5th Baron Latymer (1852 - 1923), "The caterpillar", appears in Musa Verticordia, first published 1904 [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 Isaac Albéniz (1860 - 1909), "The caterpillar" [voice and piano], from Two songs, no. 1. [text verified 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Jean-Pierre Granger) , title 1: "La chenille", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Jean-Pierre Granger
This text was added to the website: 2009-11-19
Line count: 16
Word count: 92