by Edgar Allan Poe (1809 - 1849)
Romance
Language: English
Romance, who loves to nod and sing With drowsy head and folded wing Among the green leaves as they shake Far down within some shadowy lake, To me a painted paroquet Hath been -- most familiar bird -- Taught me my alphabet to say, To lisp my very earliest word While in the wild wood I did lie, A child -- with a most knowing eye. Of late, eternal condor years So shake the very Heaven on high With tumult as they thunder by, I have no time for idle cares Through gazing on the unquiet sky; And when an hour with calmer wings Its down upon my spirit flings, That little time with lyre and rhyme To while away -- forbidden things -- My heart would feel to be a crime Unless it trembled with the strings.
Authorship:
- by Edgar Allan Poe (1809 - 1849), "Romance" [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 Peter W. F. Lawson (b. 1951), "Romance", 1978 [soprano or tenor and piano], from Care Charmer Sleepe, no. 4. [text not verified]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2010-01-24
Line count: 21
Word count: 133