by
Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886)
I felt a cleavage in my mind
Language: English
Available translation(s): GER
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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1 in some editions of Dickinson: "cleaving"
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: 49
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.
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Authorship:
Based on:
This text was added to the website: 2010-01-12
Line count: 8
Word count: 38