What if I say I shall not wait!

"What if I say I shall not wait!" is the sixteenth song in Leo Smit's song cycle Beyond Circumference. Beyond Circumference is the fourth of Smit's six song cycles setting the poetry of Emily Dickinson.

For more information about Leo Smit's Emily Dickinson song cycles, please visit the pages for The Ecstatic Pilgrimage and Leo Smit.

For inquiries about Leo Smit and to obtain sheet music, please contact Nils Vigeland at [email protected].

Date: 1990Composer: Leo SmitText: Emily DickinsonSong Collection: Beyond Circumference

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Text

What if I say I shall not wait! (poem 277)
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!

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