Before the squall

The wind is missing on the sea,
The windy white foam dancers leap;
And the sea moans uneasily,
And turns to sleep, and cannot sleep.

Ridge after ridge uplifts wild hands,
And hammers at the land,
Scatters in liquid dust, and drifts
To death among the dusty sand.

On the horizon's nearing line,
Where the sky rests a visible wall,
Grey in the offing I divine
The sails that fly before a squall.

by Arthur Symons (1865-1945) , "Before the squall", from Silhouettes, in At Dieppe, no. 4

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 Joseph Becker (1886-1961) , "Before the squall", published 1959, from At Dieppe, no. 3.
by Ethel Mary Smyth, Dame (1858-1944) , "Before the squall", published 1913 [mezzo-soprano, baritone, and piano], from Three Moods of the Sea, no. 2.

Date added to the website: 2006-03-11.

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