by Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872 - 1906)
The sparrow
Language: English
A little bird, with plumage brown, Beside my window flutters down, A moment chirps its little strain, Ten taps upon my window-pane, And chirps again, and hops along, To call my notice to its song; But I work on, nor heed its lay, Till, in neglect, it flies away. So birds of peace and hope and love Come fluttering earthward from above, To settle on life's window-sills, And ease our load of earthly ills; But we, in traffic's rush and din Too deep engaged to let them in, With deadened heart and sense plod on, Nor know our loss till they are gone.
Authorship:
- by Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872 - 1906), "The sparrow", first published 1913 [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), "The sparrow", op. 31 no. 3 [coloratura-soprano and piano], from 3 Songs for Coloratura-Soprano and Piano, no. 3 [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Bertram Kottmann , "Der Sperling", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission ; composed by Gary Bachlund.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2010-10-26
Line count: 16
Word count: 103