Our prayer of thanks (Sandburg, set by H. Mollincone) (The Lied and Art Song Texts Page: Texts and Translations to Lieder, mélodies, canzoni, and other classical vocal music)


For the gladness here where the sun is shining
at evening on the weeds at the river,
  Our prayer of thanks.

For the laughter of children who tumble barefooted
and bareheaded in the summer grass,
  Our prayer of thanks.

For the sunset and the stars,
the women and the white arms that hold us,
  Our prayer of thanks.

  God,
If you are deaf and blind, if this is all lost to you,
God, if the dead in their coffins 
amid the silver handles on the edge of town,
or the reckless dead of war days thrown unknown in pits,
if these dead are forever deaf and blind and lost,
  Our prayer of thanks.

  God,
The game is all your way, the secrets and the signals and the system; 
and so for the break of the game and the first play and the last.
  Our prayer of thanks.

Authorship

Carl Sandburg (1878-1967)

Chicago Poems

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive)

Henry Mollincone (1946-)

Date added to the website: 2008-06-17.

Gentle Reminder

This project is not funded. If you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your gift is greatly appreciated!
- Emily

I also have a wishlist at Amazon.ca.