Ode to Sleep
On this my pensive pillow, gentle Sleep!
Descend, in all thy downy plumage drest:
Wipe with thy wing these eyes that wake to weep,
And place thy crown of poppies on my breast.
O steep my senses in oblivion's balm,
And sooth my throbbing pulse with lenient hand;
This tempest of my boiling blood becalm!
Despair grows mild at thy supreme command.
Yet ah! in vain, familiar with the gloom,
And sadly toiling through the tedious night,
I seek sweet slumber, while that virgin bloom,
For ever hovering, haunts my wretched sight.
Nor would the dawning day my sorrows charm:
Black midnight and the blaze of noon alike
To me appear, while with uplifted arm
Death stands prepar'd, but still delays, to strike.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on May 02, 2023
- 38 sec read
- 106 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABAB CBCB DBDB EFEF |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 709 |
Words | 125 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4 |
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"Ode to Sleep" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 20 Sep. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/37156/ode-to-sleep>.
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