Only in Sleep

Ēriks Ešenvalds (b. 1977)

Only in sleep I see their faces,

children I played with when I was a child,

Louise comes back with her brown hair braided,

Annie with ringlets warm and wild.

Only in sleep Time is forgotten;

what may have come to them, who can know?

Yet we played last night as long ago,

and the doll-house stood at the turn of the stair.

The years had not sharpened their smooth round faces,

I met their eyes and found them mild.

Do they, too, dream of me, I wonder,

and for them am I too a child?

— Sara Teasdale (1884-1933)

“Only in Sleep” was performed by soprano Kammi Estelle and the Houston Chamber Choir at their 2018-2019 season’s “This Is Why I Sing."