by George Sterling (1869 - 1926)
The Black Vulture
Language: English
Aloof within the day's enormous dome, He holds unshared the silence of the sky. Far down his bleak, relentless eyes descry The eagle's empire and the falcon's home— Far down, the galleons of sunset roam; His hazards on the sea of morning lie; Serene, he hears the broken tempest sigh Where cold sierras gleam like scattered foam. And least of all he holds the human swarm— Unwitting now [that envious men]1 prepare To make their dream and its fulfilment one, When, poised above the [caldrons of the]1 storm, Their hearts, contemptuous of death, shall dare His roads between the thunder and the sun.
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Researcher for this page: Johann Winkler
Confirmed with Kevin Starr, Americans and the Californian Dream 1850 - 1915, New York, 1973.
1 Stöhr: "that men"Authorship:
- by George Sterling (1869 - 1926), "The Black Vulture" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Richard Stöhr (1874 - 1967), "The Black Vulture", op. 110 (Twelve Songs) no. 8 (1944-1945) [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this page: Johann Winkler
This text was added to the website: 2021-09-12
Line count: 14
Word count: 103