All audio files can be found on our catalog page: https://librivox.org/a-mothers-song-by-anna-hempstead-branch/
Each fortnight a poem is chosen to be recorded by as many LibriVox volunteers as possible!A tribute to Mothers everywhere. Taken from The shoes that danced, and other poems by Anna Hempstead Branch, (pub. 1905) ( David Lawrence)
This Fortnightly Poem was suggested by TriciaG.
This fortnight's poem can be found here.
Set your recording software to:
Channels: 1 (Mono)
Bit Rate: 128 kbps
Sample Rate: 44100 kHz
Have questions on "how"?
Check LV's Recording Notes thread before recording. If this is your first recording, you'll also find this Newbie Guide to Recording useful.
Begin your reading with the abbreviated LibriVox disclaimer:
No more than 0.5 to 1 second of silence at the beginning of the recording!
Then read the poem:A Mother's Song by Anna Hempstead Branch, read for LibriVox.org by [your name].
[Add, if you wish, date, your location, and/or your personal URL.]
I HAVE not yet known Mother's grief
For I can comfort thee.
Child, I can smile above the tears
So swiftly eased by me.
I know in time my son shall grow
Beyond his Mother's ken.
And half a stranger he will go
Among the world of men.
Then shall I know a Mother's grief—
His separate bitterness.
My heart will break if his must ache
With wounds I cannot guess.
'T is little pain to bear a child
Beside this other woe.
To feel the helplessness to soothe
The want that grieves him so.
(I hear a man cry in the dark,
He journeys on alone.)
Lie close, lie close, my little son,
While yet thou art my own.
(His heart is broken by stranger hands,
I may not give him rest.)
My darling one, my child, my Son!
I hold thee on my breast.
(The heart in him is sick with need,
For help I may not give.)
Perchance the smiles I spend on thee
May help that stranger live.
(Unhoused, along a barren road,
I hear a pilgrim weep.)
But in his heart is the little song
That sings thee now to sleep.
(The bitter brand of this world's shame
Is sealed upon his brow.)
But in his hand is a New Name—
The kiss I give thee now!
For when my child is grown — is grown —
He 'll get this help from me,
That now, while he is all my own,
I rock him on my knee.
At the end of your reading, leave a space and then say:
End of poem. This recording is in the public domain.
Please leave 5 seconds of silence at the end of your recording.
Save your recording as an mp3 file using the following filename and ID3 tag format:
File name - all in lowercase: motherssong_branch_your initials in lowercase_128kb.mp3
(e.g. motherssong_branch_klh_128kb.mp3 )
ID3 tags (Version 2.30): ID Tags are completed during Cataloging
*Readers, please check back in a day or so for any feedback regarding your reading.
*Best to copy the filename provided in the opening post into the LV Uploader, inserting your initials of course.
Transfer of files (completed recordings) Please always post in this forum thread when you've sent a file. Also, post the length of the recording (file duration: mm:ss) together with the link.
- Upload your file with the LibriVox Uploader: https://librivox.org/login/uploader
(If you have trouble reading the image above, please message an admin) - You'll need to select the MC, which for this project is: aradlaw
- When your upload is complete, you will receive a link - please post it in this thread.
- If this doesn't work, or you have questions, please check our How To Send Your Recording wiki page.
When you post your link, please include your name as you would like it credited on the catalog page and any URL by which you would like it accompanied. (Note: This is only necessary if you have not done so for another project.)
(If you wish to contribute, please have your readings submitted by 0600 GMT Sunday, May 17, 2020. (12:00AM CDT)
Please don't download files belonging to projects in process (unless you are the BC or PL). Our servers are not set up to handle the greater volume of traffic. Please wait until the project has been completed. Thanks!<p>
Magic Window:
BC Admin
(And remember, anyone can suggest a poem for a certain week and/or coordinate an upcoming fortnightly poem! If you'd like to suggest a poem or coordinate a future Fortnightly Poetry project, please visit this thread.)
