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by Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892 - 1950)

Thou famished grave, I will not fill...
Language: English 
Thou famished grave, I will not fill thee yet,
Roar though thou dost, I am too happy here;
Gnaw thine own sides, fast on; I have no fear
Of thy dark project, but my heart is set
On living - I have heroes to beget
Before I die; I will not come anear
Thy dismal jaws for many a splendid year;
Till I be old, I aim not to be eat.
I cannot starve thee out: I am thy prey
And thou shalt have me; but I dare defend
That I can stave thee off; and I dare say,
What with the life I lead, the force I spend,
I'll be but bones and jewels on that day,
And leave thee hungry even in the end.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • by Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892 - 1950), "Sonnet", first published 1938 [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), "Thou famished grave", 1959 [ voice, viola, and piano ], from Three Sonnets for Voice, Viola and Piano, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2011-02-14
Line count: 14
Word count: 125

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