Quote#Death
When I am dead and over me bright April
Quote bySara Teasdale · 1884–1933
Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: Rivers to the Sea (1915), "I Shall Not Care".
English (original)
When I am dead and over me bright April Shakes out her rain-drenched hair, Tho' you should lean above me broken-hearted, I shall not care. I shall have peace, as leafy trees are peaceful When rain bends down the bough, And I shall be more silent and cold-hearted Than you are now.
— Sara Teasdale
More from Sara Teasdale
But oh, to him I loved Who loved me not at all, I owe the little open gate That led thru heaven's wall.
I am the pool of gold When sunset burns and dies,— You are my deepening skies, Give me your stars to hold.
Oh, is it not enough to be Here with this beauty over me? My throat should ache with praise, and I Should kneel in joy beneath the sky. Oh, beauty are you not enough?
I lift my heart as spring lifts up A yellow daisy to the rain; My heart will be a lovely cup Altho' it holds but pain. For I shall learn from flower and leaf That color every drop they hold,
Oh, beauty, are you not enough? Why am I crying after love?
How should they know that Sappho lived and died Faithful to love, not faithful to the lover, Never transfused and lost in what she loved, Never so wholly loving nor at peace.