Come Slowly Eden!

for Soprano & Piano

(2016)

MORAKOT CHERDCHOO-NGARM

Nine Songs
Composed by Morakot Cherdchoo-ngarm (2016)

1. Come Slowly Eden!

Poem by Emily Dickinson
Come slowly Eden!
Lips unused to Thee
Bashful sip thy Jessamines
As the fainting Bee
Reaching late his flower,
Round her chamber hums
Counts his nectars
Enters and is lost in Balms.

2. A baby s cradle with no baby in it

Poem by Christina Georgina Rossetti

A baby's cradle with no baby in it,

A baby's grave where autumn leaves drop sere;
The sweet soul gathered home to Paradise,
The body waiting here.

3. Give us Rain
Poem by Robert Graves
'Give us Rain, Rain,' said the bean and the pea,
'Not so much Sun,
Not so much Sun.'
But the Sun smiles bravely and encouragingly,
And no rain falls and no waters run.
'Give us Peace, Peace,' said the peoples oppressed,
'Not so many Flags,
Not so many Flags.'
But the Flags fly and the Drums beat, denying rest,
And the children starve, they shiver in rags.

4. Why?
Poem by Walter de la Mare
Ever, ever
Stir and shiver
The reeds and rushes
By the river:
Ever, ever,
As if in dream,
The lone moon's silver
Sleeks the stream.
What old sorrow,
What lost love,
Moon, reeds, rushes,
Dream you of?

5. Eyes That I Last Saw in Tears

Poem by T.S.Eliot
Eyes that last I saw in tears
Through division
Here in death's dream kingdom
The golden vision reappears
I see the eyes but not the tears
This is my affliction
This is my affliction
Eyes I shall not see again
Eyes of decision
Eyes I shall not see unless
At the door of death's other kingdom
Where, as in this,
The eyes outlast a little while
A little while outlast the tears
And hold us in derision.

6. O Wind, Where have you been?

Poem by Christina Georgina Rossetti
O wind, where have you been,
That you blow so sweet?
Among the violets
Which blossom at your feet.
The honeysuckle waits
For Summer and for heat.
But violets in the chilly Spring
Make the turf so sweet.

7. A Dream of Death
Poem by William Butler Yeats
I DREAMED that one had died in a strange place
Near no accustomed hand,
And they had nailed the boards above her face,
The peasants of that land,
Wondering to lay her in that solitude,
And raised above her mound
A cross they had made out of two bits of wood,
And planted cypress round;
And left her to the indifferent stars above
Until I carved these words:
She was more beautiful than thy first love,
But now lies under boards

8. A Drinking Song
Poem by William Butler Yeats
Wine comes in at the mouth
And love comes in at the eye;
Thats all we shall know for truth
Before we grow old and die.
I lift the glass to my mouth,
I look at you, and I sigh.

9. Goodbye
Poem by Christina Georgina Rossetti
Goodbye in fear, goodbye in sorrow,
Goodbye, and all in vain,
Never to meet again, my dear -
Never to part again.
Goodbye today, goodbye tomorrow,
Goodbye till earth shall wane,
Never to meet again, my dear -
Never to part again.