by Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892 - 1950)
When reeds are dead and straw to thatch...
Language: English
When reeds are dead and straw to thatch the marshes, And feathered pampas-grass rides into the wind Like agèd warriors westward, tragic, thinned Of half their tribe; an over the flattened rushes, Stripped of its secret, open, stark and bleak, Blackens afar the half-forgotten creek, -- Then leans on me the weight of the year, and crushes My heart. I know that beauty must ail and die, And will be born again, -- but ah, to see Beauty stiffened, staring up at the sky! Oh, Autumn! Autumn! -- What is the Spring to me?
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892 - 1950), "The death of Autumn", appears in Second April, first published 1921 [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 Harrison Kerr (1897 - 1978), "The death of Autumn", published 1975 [ soprano and piano ], from Three Songs [sung text not yet checked]
- by Lowell Liebermann (b. 1961), "The Death of Autumn I", op. 123 no. 3 (2013) [ mezzo-soprano, clarinet, and piano quartet ], from Four Seasons, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Lowell Liebermann (b. 1961), "The Death of Autumn II", op. 123 no. 4 (2013) [ mezzo-soprano, clarinet, and piano quartet ], from Four Seasons, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-06-03
Line count: 11
Word count: 91