Continuing the poetry trend, Ralph Vaughan Williams has set the text of this Christina Rossetti poem. I had the extreme privilege of getting to sing in a chamber choir in undergrad, and this was one of the selections we performed. It is one of the few pieces that has stayed with me, 8-9 years later. It just is such a beautiful picture, to me. Now that I think about it, it's the way Vaughan Williams sets the text that is so touching. There are a few recordings on youtube if you wish to find them, but I won't put links in here. (Partly because I'm not sure how the video will embed...)
Why am I posting so much poetry? Well, I guess because my day-to-day life isn't so interesting quite yet. But it WILL be -- my new roommate moves in on Saturday!
Rest
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O earth, lie heavily upon her eyes,
Seal her sweet eyes weary of watching, Earth;
Lie close around her, leave no room for mirth
With its harsh laughter, nor for sound of sighs.
She hath no questions, she hath no replies,
Hush'd in and curtain'd with a blessed dearth
Of all that irk'd her from the hour of birth;
With stillness that is almost Paradise.
Darkness more clear than noonday holdeth her,
Silence more musical than any song;
Even her very heart has ceased to stir:
Until the morning of Eternity
Her rest shall not begin, nor end, but be;
And when she wakes (and when she wakes), she will not think it long.
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