Sonnet V

George Santayana 1863 (Madrid) – 1952 (Rome)



Dreamt I today the dream of yesternight,
Sleep ever feigning one evolving theme -
Of my two lives which should I call the dream?
Which action vanity? Which vision sight?
Some greater waking must pronounce aright,
If aught abides still of the things that seem,
And with both currents swell the flooded stream
Into an ocean infinite of light.

Even such a dream I dream, and know full well
My waking passes like a midnight spell,
But know not if my dreaming could break through
Into the deeps of heaven and of hell.
I know but this of all I would I knew:
Truth is a dream, unless my dream is true.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

34 sec read
104

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABBAABBA CCDCDD
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 589
Words 114
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 8, 6

George Santayana

Jorge Agustín Nicolás Ruiz de Santayana y Borrás, known as George Santayana, was a philosopher, essayist, poet, and novelist. more…

All George Santayana poems | George Santayana Books

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