Sleep
James Weldon Johnson 1871 (Jacksonville) – 1938 (Wiscasset)
O Sleep, thou kindest minister to man,
Silent distiller of the balm of rest,
How wonderful thy power, when naught else can,
To soothe the torn and sorrow-laden breast!
When bleeding hearts no comforter can find,
When burdened souls droop under weight of woe,
When thought is torture to the troubled mind,
When grief-relieving tears refuse to flow;
'Tis then thou comest on soft-beating wings,
And sweet oblivion's peace from them is shed;
But ah, the old pain that the waking brings!
That lives again so soon as thou art fled!
Man, why should thought of death cause thee to weep;
Since death be but an endless, dreamless sleep?
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 33 sec read
- 97 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABABCDCDEFEFGG |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 622 |
Words | 111 |
Stanzas | 1 |
Stanza Lengths | 14 |
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"Sleep" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/20728/sleep>.
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