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by Langston Hughes (1902 - 1967)

A house in Taos 
Language: English 
     Rain

Thunder of the Rain God:
  And we three
  Smitten by beauty.

Thunder of the Rain God:
  And we three
  Weary, weary.

Thunder of the Rain God:
  And you, she, and I
  Waiting for nothingness.

Do you understand the stillness
  Of this house
  In Taos
Under the thunder of the Rain God?

      Sun

That there should be a barren garden
About this house in Taos
Is not so strange,
But that there should be three barren hearts
In this one house in Taos --
Who carries ugly things to show the sun?

      Moon

Did you ask for the beaten brass of the moon?
We can buy lovely things with money,
You, she, and I,
Yet you seek,
As though you could keep,
This unbought loveliness of moon.

      Wind

Touch our bodies, wind.
Our bodies are separate, individual things.
Touch our bodies, wind,
But blow quickly
Through the red, white, yellow skins
Of our bodies
To the terrible snarl,
Not mine,
Not yours,
Not hers,
But all one snarl of souls.
Blow quickly, wind,
Before we run back
Into the windlessness --
With our bodies --
Into the windlessness
Of our house in Taos.

Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada, but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.

Text Authorship:

  • by Langston Hughes (1902 - 1967), "A house in Taos" [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 Robert Owens (1925 - 2017), "A house in Taos ", op. 29 no. 1 [ baritone and piano ], from Mortal Storm, no. 1, with a German translation by E. Berghöfer-Engen [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2010-10-26
Line count: 46
Word count: 191

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