I 'Ye have forgotten tlie exhortation. ' Come, blessed sleep, most full, most perfect, come: Come, sleep, if so I may forget the whole; Forget my body and forget my soul, Forget how long life is and troublesome. Come, happy sleep, to soothe my heart or numb, Arrest my weary spirit or control: Till light be dark to me from pole to pole, And winds and echoes and low songs be dumb. Come, sleep, and lap me into perfect calm, Lap me from all the world and weariness: Come, secret sleep, with thine un-uttered psalm, Safe sheltering in a hidden cool recess: Come, heavy dreamless sleep, and close and press Upon mine eyes thy fingers dropping balm. II 'Which speaketh unto you as unto childre.' Art thou so weary then, poor thirsty soul? Have patience, in due season thou shalt sleep. Mount yet a little while, the path is steep: Strain yet a little while to reach the goal: Do battle with thyself, achieve, control: Till night come down with blessed slumber deep As love, and seal thine eyes no more to weep Through long tired vigils while the planets roll. Have patience, for thou too shalt sleep at length, Lapt in the pleasant shade of Paradise. My Hands that bled for thee shall close thine eyes, My Heart that bled for thee shall be thy rest: I will sustain with everlasting strength. And thou, with John, shalt lie upon My breast. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...ON DEATH, WITHOUT EXAGGERATION by WISLAWA SZYMBORSKA DRUG STORE by JOHN VAN ALSTYN WEAVER THE BARD'S EXCUSE by FRANKLIN PIERCE ADAMS THE BEST MEMORIAL by AGATHIAS SCHOLASTICUS ANTIMENIDAS by ALCAEUS OF MYTILENE THE HAYSWATER BOAT by MATTHEW ARNOLD HINC LACHRIMAE; OR THE AUTHOR TO AURORA: 23 by WILLIAM BOSWORTH |