by
Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886)
I felt a cleavage in my mind
Language: English
I felt a [cleavage]1 in my mind
As if my brain had split;
I tried to match it seam by seam,
But could not make it fit.
The thought behind I strove to join
Unto the thought before
But sequence ravelled out of reach
Like balls upon a floor.
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View original text (without footnotes)
1 in some editions of Dickinson: "cleaving"
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 Michael M. Horvit (b. 1932), "I felt a cleavage in my mind", published 1970 [ soprano and piano ], from Three Songs of Elegy [sung text not yet checked]
- by Sergius Kagen (1909 - 1964), "I felt a cleavage in my mind", published 1956 [ voice, clarinet or chamber orchestra ], from The Mob Within the Heart [sung text not yet checked]
- by Otto Luening (1900 - 1996), "I felt a cleavage", published 1961 [ medium voice and piano ], from Songs to Poems of Emily Dickinson [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) (Walter A. Aue) , copyright © 2010, (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: 50
Ich fühlt' den Spalt in meinem Kopf
Language: German (Deutsch) after the English
Ich fühlt' den Spalt in meinem Kopf,
als wär mein Hirn zerteilt;
Zusammenfügen wollt ich es,
doch blieb es ungeheilt.
Ich wollt' verbinden die Idee
bevor mit der danach,
Doch auseinander liefen sie
wie Bälle auf dem Dach.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
Based on:
This text was added to the website: 2010-01-12
Line count: 8
Word count: 38
