Text by Sappho, English Translation by Bliss Carman:
It never can be mine
To sit in the door in the sun
And watch the world go by
A pageant and a dream;
For I was born for love,
And fashioned for desire,
Beauty, passion, and joy,
And sorrow and unrest;
And with all things of earth
Eternally must go,
Daring the perilous bourn
Of joyance and of death,
A strain of song by night,
A shadow on the hill,
A hint of odorous grass,
A murmur of the sea.
For Love was premiered by Rory Buscaglia (mezzo-soprano), Audrey Potter (violin), and Hannah Mohr (piano) on Oct. 7, 2019 at SUNY Fredonia.
It never can be mine
To sit in the door in the sun
And watch the world go by
A pageant and a dream;
For I was born for love,
And fashioned for desire,
Beauty, passion, and joy,
And sorrow and unrest;
And with all things of earth
Eternally must go,
Daring the perilous bourn
Of joyance and of death,
A strain of song by night,
A shadow on the hill,
A hint of odorous grass,
A murmur of the sea.
For Love was premiered by Rory Buscaglia (mezzo-soprano), Audrey Potter (violin), and Hannah Mohr (piano) on Oct. 7, 2019 at SUNY Fredonia.