Fire and Sleet

2021. SATB, piano, and violin / 4 min

Score PDF

The beautiful and haunting poem Fire and Sleet and Candlelight laments a wasted life. This piece is reminiscent of the choral standards “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child” and “Wayfaring Stranger,” evoking what I can hope are similar thrilling feelings of angst and terror for singer, conductor, and listener. The poet Elinor Wylie (1885-1928) was born in Somerville, New Jersey.

Demo vocals by Hector Munoz’ chamber choir via fiverr.com.

Fire and Sleet

 

For this you’ve striven

    Daring, to fail:

Your sky is riven

    Like a tearing veil.

For this, you’ve wasted

    Wings of your youth;

Divined, and tasted

    Bitter springs of truth.

From sand unslakèd

    Twisted strong cords,

And wandered naked

    Among trysted swords.

There’s a word unspoken,

    A knot untied.

Whatever is broken

    The earth may hide.

The road was jagged

    Over sharp stones:

Your body’s too ragged

    To cover your bones.

The wind scatters

    Tears upon dust;

Your soul’s in tatters

    Where the spears thrust.

Your race is ended—

    See, it is run:

Nothing is mended

    Under the sun.

Straight as an arrow

    You fall to a sleep

Not too narrow

    And not too deep.