Commissioned by Cantiamo Girls Choir, Jackie Hawley, Artistic Director, for the 15th anniversary of the Cantiamo Choirs of Ottawa. It was premiered in June, 2018.
The poem Salutation to the Dawn is often attributed to the Sanskri dramatist and lyric poet Kālidāsa whose writings were based on the Hindu sacred texts: the Vedas, the Ramayan, the Mahabharata, and the Puranas. He most likely lived near the Himalayas during the 5th century. The actual Sanskrit text for the poem is lost, however, the overall message and philosophy so closely resemble other source texts of Kālidāsa that it is very likely his writing. The poem first appeared in an English anthology entitled, Masterpieces of Religious Verse, ed. James Dalton Morrison, p. 301 (1948).
Salutation to the Dawn
Listen to the salutation to the dawn, Look to this day for it is life, the very life of life, In its brief course lie all the verities and realities of our existence.
The bliss of growth, the splendor of beauty, For yesterday is but a dream and tomorrow is only a vision,
But today well spent makes every yesterday a dream of happiness and every tomorrow a vision of hope. Look well therefore to this day. Such is the salutation to the dawn.
~Sanskrit, attributed to Kālidāsa
You can purchase the PDF file for Salutation to the Dawn from: laurahawley.ca/catalogue/salutation-to-the-dawn/
