The Heart asks—Pleasure first
(1978)- Music by George Perle
- Text by Emily Dickinson
"The Heart asks—Pleasure first" is the eighth song of George Perle's Thirteen Dickinson Songs. For more information about this song cycle, please visit: Thirteen Dickinson Songs.
The Heart asks—Pleasure first
by Emily Dickinson
The heart asks pleasure first,
And then, excuse from pain ;
And then, those little anodynes
That deaden suffering ;
And then, to go to sleep ;
And then, if it should be
The will of its Inquisitor,
The liberty to die.
