1972
Of Mere Being
Composed by 
Ned Rorem
Ned Rorem Text by 
Wallace Stevens
Wallace Stevens Last Poems of Wallace Stevens Song Collection
"Of Mere Being" is the sixth poem and song in Ned Rorem's Last Poems of Wallace Stevens. The song is for solo voice, framed by a few measures of solo cello. The entire song cycle is for soprano, cello, and piano.
Text
Of Mere Being
by Wallace Stevens
The palm at the end of the mind,
Beyond the last thought, rises
In the bronze distance.
A gold-feathered bird
Sings in the palm, without human meaning,
Without human feeling, a foreign song.
You know then that it is not the reason
That makes us happy or unhappy.
The bird sings. Its feathers shine.
The palm stands on the edge of space.
The wind moves slowly in the branches.
The bird’s fire-fangled feathers dangle down.
Sheet Music
Last Poems of Wallace Stevens
Ned Rorem
1. Not Ideas about the Thing but the Thing Itself
2. The River of Rivers in Connecticut
3. A Child Asleep in Its Own Life
4. The Planet on the Table
5. The Dove in Spring
6. Of Mere Being
7. A Clear Day and No Memories
2. The River of Rivers in Connecticut
3. A Child Asleep in Its Own Life
4. The Planet on the Table
5. The Dove in Spring
6. Of Mere Being
7. A Clear Day and No Memories