English Poetry II: From Collins to Fitzgerald.
The Harvard Classics. 1909–14. |
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| 412. To Sleep |
| | | William Wordsworth (1770–1850) |
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| A FLOCK of sheep that leisurely pass by | |
| One after one; the sound of rain, and bees | |
| Murmuring; the fall of rivers, winds and seas, | |
| Smooth fields, white sheets of water, and pure sky;— | |
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| I’ve thought of all by turns, and still I lie | 5 |
| Sleepless; and soon the small birds’ melodies | |
| Must hear, first utter’d from my orchard trees, | |
| And the first cuckoo’s melancholy cry. | |
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| Even thus last night, and two nights more I lay, | |
| And could not win thee, Sleep! by any stealth: | 10 |
| So do not let me wear to-night away: | |
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| Without Thee what is all the morning’s wealth? | |
| Come, blesséd barrier between day and day, | |
| Dear mother of fresh thoughts and joyous health! | |
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