 | The high-top sweeting And Other Poems |  |
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THE SWEETEST SLEEP.
Poor heart, worn out with aching,
With troubled dreaming and with joy less waking,
How sweet and well-attended
Shall be thy rest, when all thy toils are ended!
With troubled dreaming and with joy less waking,
How sweet and well-attended
Shall be thy rest, when all thy toils are ended!
Thy tired head pillowed purely
In virgin earth, there shalt thou sleep securely;
Not one shall dare molest thee,
Of all the cruel ills which have oppressed thee.
In virgin earth, there shalt thou sleep securely;
Not one shall dare molest thee,
Of all the cruel ills which have oppressed thee.
Those whom thy love has cherished
May weep for thee, and mourn that thou hast perished;
But grass will grow about thee,
And all the world go on the same without thee.
May weep for thee, and mourn that thou hast perished;
But grass will grow about thee,
And all the world go on the same without thee.
Perhaps, for one brief summer,
The birds will fly before some lonely comer
Who used to prize and love thee,
And stays to strew fresh flowers and tears above thee.
The birds will fly before some lonely comer
Who used to prize and love thee,
And stays to strew fresh flowers and tears above thee.
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But love grows weary, sighing
To silent hearts which utter no replying;
Awhile he will regret thee,
Then wipe his eyes, and sigh, and so forget thee.
To silent hearts which utter no replying;
Awhile he will regret thee,
Then wipe his eyes, and sigh, and so forget thee.
The butterfly, alighted
Upon thy peaceful bosom, unaffrighted,
Shall sip the blooms above thee,
And spread and shut his wings, unmindful of thee.
Upon thy peaceful bosom, unaffrighted,
Shall sip the blooms above thee,
And spread and shut his wings, unmindful of thee.
The cuckoo, for thy hearing,
Shall pour his tender monotone unfearing;
The whippoorwill bewail thee,
With tender constancy that shall not fail thee.
Shall pour his tender monotone unfearing;
The whippoorwill bewail thee,
With tender constancy that shall not fail thee.
The brook, from reedy cover,
Shall tell the story of thy lifetime over
To the dim shades which throng thee,
Nor once in all the sweet recital wrong thee.
Shall tell the story of thy lifetime over
To the dim shades which throng thee,
Nor once in all the sweet recital wrong thee.
Shy wood-birds, which love only
The haunts which men have left untracked and lonely,
Upon the sods which hide thee
Shall drink the dew, and sit and sing beside thee.
The haunts which men have left untracked and lonely,
Upon the sods which hide thee
Shall drink the dew, and sit and sing beside thee.
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At eve, the clear-voiced thrushes
Shall make the sweet air throb with music-gushes,
Yet wake no thrill within thee,
Nor from thy deep undreaming slumber win thee.
Shall make the sweet air throb with music-gushes,
Yet wake no thrill within thee,
Nor from thy deep undreaming slumber win thee.
The timid rabbit, stopping,
With ears alert, to hear the acorns dropping,
Shall pass unscared, and leave thee,
And turn with quick bright eyes, yet not perceive thee.
With ears alert, to hear the acorns dropping,
Shall pass unscared, and leave thee,
And turn with quick bright eyes, yet not perceive thee.
The squirrel, at his pleasure
Frisking, shall fill his cheeks with winter treasure,
And with no cause to fear thee,
Shell his ripe nuts, and dig his storehouse near thee.
Frisking, shall fill his cheeks with winter treasure,
And with no cause to fear thee,
Shell his ripe nuts, and dig his storehouse near thee.
The pine that guards thy sleeping,
Shall hold thy memory in fragrant keeping,
With balsam-tears deplore thee,
And build with cones an odorous altar o'er thee.
Shall hold thy memory in fragrant keeping,
With balsam-tears deplore thee,
And build with cones an odorous altar o'er thee.
And when the autumn passes,
And fades thy coverlet of plumy grasses,
Nature shall not neglect thee,
But send her whitest angels to protect thee.
And fades thy coverlet of plumy grasses,
Nature shall not neglect thee,
But send her whitest angels to protect thee.
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Then, burdened heart, with patience
Bear thou thy load of trials and temptations,
For sweet and well-attended
Shall be thy sleep, when all thy toils are ended!
Bear thou thy load of trials and temptations,
For sweet and well-attended
Shall be thy sleep, when all thy toils are ended!
| The high-top sweeting And Other Poems | |