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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

ON A CHILD SLEEPING IN CYNTHIA'S LAP by PHILIP AYRES

First Line: SLEEP, HAPPY BOY, THERE SLEEP, AND TAKE THY REST
Last Line: YET ALL THIS WHILE, IT IS NO DREAM, BUT TRUE.
Subject(s): BOYS; SLEEP;
SLEEP, happy boy, there sleep, and take thy rest,
Free from the passions which disturb my breast;
Yet know 'tis Innocence that thee has freed,
And lets thee sleep so quiet on this bed.

Thy wearied limbs have sweetly rested here,
If with less sun, in a more happy sphere;
Whilst in despair my soul afflicted lies,
And of mere envy to behold thee, dies.

Dream, thou enjoy'st more true felicity,
Than lavish fortune can bestow on thee;
That thou amidst such precious gems art hurl'd,
Are able to enrich th' insatiate world:

That thou the Phoenix shalt transcend in fame,
Who sleep'st, and risest, in a purer flame;
That thou'rt an Angel, Heav'n's that lap I view:
Yet all this while, it is no dream, but true.



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