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by Max Forrester Eastman (1883 - 1969)

At the aquarium
Language: English 
Serene the silver fishes glide,
Stern-lipped, and pale, and wonder-eyed!
As through the aged deeps of ocean,
They glide with wan and wavy motion.
They have no pathway where they go,
They flow like water to and fro,
They watch with never-winking eyes,
They watch with staring, cold surprise,
The level people in the air,
The people peering, peering there:
Who wander also to and fro,
And know not why or where they go,
Yet have a wonder in their eyes,
Sometimes a pale and cold surprise.

From Louis Untermeyer, ed. (1885–1977). Modern American Poetry, 1919.

Text Authorship:

  • by Max Forrester Eastman (1883 - 1969), "At the aquarium" [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 John Woods Duke (1899 - 1984), "At the aquarium", 1947 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2011-02-08
Line count: 14
Word count: 87

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