What if I say I shall not wait!

"What if I say I shall not wait!" is the ninth song of George Perle's Thirteen Dickinson Songs.

Date: 1978Composer: George PerleText: Emily DickinsonSong Collection: Thirteen Dickinson Songs

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Text

What if I say I shall not wait!
by Emily Dickinson

What if I say I shall not wait!
What if I burst the fleshly Gate —
And pass escaped — to thee!

What if I file this Mortal — off —
See where it hurt me — That’s enough —
And wade in Liberty!

They cannot take me — any more!
Dungeons can call — and Guns implore
Unmeaning — now — to me —

As laughter — was — an hour ago —
Or Laces — or a Travelling Show —
Or who died — yesterday!

Sheet Music

Thirteen Dickinson Songs

Composer(s): George Perle

Song(s): 1. Perhaps you'd like to buy a flower
2. I Like to see it lap the miles
3. I know some lonely Houses off the road
4. There came a Wind like a Bugle
5. Beauty—be not caused—It is
6. The Wind—tapped like a tired Man
7. These are the days when Birds come back
8. The Heart asks—Pleasure first
9. What if I say I shall not wait!
10. If I’m lost—now
11. The Loneliness One dare not sound
12. Under the Light, yet under
13. She bore it till the simple veins

Voice Type: Soprano

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