by Bliss Carman (1861 - 1929) and by Richard Hovey (1864 - 1900)
I dreamed of Sappho on a summer night
Language: English
I dreamed of Sappho on a summer night. Her nightingales were singing in the trees Beside the castled river; and the wind Fell like a woman's fingers on my cheek. And then I slept and dreamed and marked no change; The night went on with me into my dream. This only I remember, that I cried: "O Sappho! ere I leave this paradise, Sing me one song of those lost books of yours For which we poets still go sorrowing; That when I meet my fellows on the earth I may rejoice them more than many pearls;" And she, the sweetly smiling, answered me, As one who dreams, "I have forgotten them."
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Text Authorship:
- by Bliss Carman (1861 - 1929), "Nocturne: In Anjou" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
- by Richard Hovey (1864 - 1900), "Nocturne: In Anjou" [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 Jean Eichelberger Ivey (b. 1923), "I dreamed of Sappho", published 1977 [soprano, alto flute, clarinet, viola, cello, piano, and electronic tape], from Three Songs of Night, no. 2, New York, Carl Fischer [text not verified]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2012-03-01
Line count: 14
Word count: 112