in 1918, john ireland set eight of her poems from "sing-song: a nursery rhyme book" to music in his song cycle "mother and child". the title of j. k. rowling's novel "the cuckoo's calling" is based on a line in rossetti's poem "a dirge". the poem "song" was an inspiration for bear mccreary to write his musical composition "when i am dead" published in 2015. two of rossetti's poems, "where sunless rivers weep" and "weeping willow" were set to music by barbara arens in her "all beautiful & splendid things: 12 + 1 piano songs on poems by women" (2017, editions musica ferrum).