1972

For a Poet

From the Dark Tower Song Collection

"For a Poet" is the seventh song in Dorothy Rudd Moore's song cycle From the Dark Tower for mezzo-soprano, cello and piano.

Audio

“For a Poet” (from From the Dark Tower)

Daveda Karanas, mezzo-soprano; Michael Ippolito, piano; Karla Hamelin, cello3:34

Dorothy Rudd Moore

Composer

Countee Cullen

Poet(s)/Writer(s)

2022

Date

University of California, Irvine, Winifred Smith Hall

Location

This recording was part of a 10am concert ("In Memorium – Dorothy Rudd Moore 1940–2022") on Saturday, October 15, 2022 during the 25th Anniversary African American Art Song Alliance Conference. The concert venue was Winifred Smith Hall at the University of California, Irvine.

Text

For a Poet by Countee Cullen

I have wrapped my dreams in a silken cloth,
And laid them away in a box of gold;
Where long will cling the lips of the moth,
I have wrapped my dreams in a silken cloth;
I hide no hate; I am not even wroth
Who found earth’s breath so keen and cold;
I have wrapped my dreams in a silken cloth,
And laid them away in a box of gold.

Video

For a Poet

Moore: “To a Poet”