The Sleeper
As Ann came in one summer's day,
She felt that she must creep,
So silent was the clear cool house,
It seemed a house of sleep.
And sure, when she pushed open the door,
Rapt in the stillness there,
Her mother sat, with stooping head,
Asleep upon a chair;
Fast -- fast asleep; her two hands laid
Loose-folded on her knee,
So that her small unconscious face
Looked half unreal to be:
So calmly lit with sleep's pale light
Each feature was; so fair
Her forehead -- every trouble was
Smooth'd out beneath her hair.
But though her mind in dream now moved,
Still seemed her gaze to rest
From out beneath her fast-sealed lids,
Above her moving breast,
On Ann, as quite, quite still she stood;
Yet slumber lay so deep
Even her hands upon her lap
Seemed saturate with sleep.
And as Ann peeped, a cloudlike dread
Stole over her, and then,
On stealthy, mouselike feet she trod,
And tiptoed out again.
poem by Walter de la Mare

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Related quotes
The House of Sleep
When we have laid aside our last endeavour,
And said farewell to one or two that weep,
And issued from the house of life for ever,
To find a lodging in the house of sleep -
With eyes fast shut, in sunless chambers lying,
With folded arms unmoved upon the breast,
Beyond the noise of sorrow and of crying,
Beyond the dread of dreaming, shall we rest?
Or shall there come at last desire of waking,
To walk again on hillsides that we know,
When sunrise through the cold white mist is breaking,
Or in the stillness of the after-glow?
Shall there be yearning for the sound of voices,
The sight of faces, and the touch of hands,
The will that works, the spirit that rejoices,
The heart that feels, the mind that understands?
Shall dreams and memories crowding from the distance,
Shall ghosts of old ambition or of mirth,
Create for us a shadow of existence,
A dim reflection of the life of earth?
And being dead, and powerless to recover
The substance of the show whereon we gaze,
Shall we be likened to the hapless lover,
Who broods upon the unreturning days?
Not so: for we have known how swift to perish
Is man's delight when youth and health take wing,
Until the winter leaves him nought to cherish
But recollections of a vanished spring.
Dream as we may, desire of life shall never
Disturb our slumbers in the house of sleep.
Yet oh, to think we may not greet for ever
The one or two that, when we leave them, weep!
poem by Robert Fuller Murray

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As i lay asleep......
Soft cushion
Flavoured incense
I lay asleep
Night
Day
All the same
I lay asleep
Hurted deep
Women weep
I lay asleep
I lay asleep
Amidst the noise
Mortal body
Left with no choice
Drones of people
Flock around
Curious for my name
In moments of despair
Feeling of fame
Its all over
Forget me now
Lay me lower
My house-the ground
And let me sleep
Let me sleep
Sleep
Sleep, forever........
-Royston Serrao
poem by Royston Serrao

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River Shannon
Oh Shannon
I might be dreaming'
The stars fell down on the factory
The cathedrals repeating, the light receding
Bells on another day
Have you ever seen my face
Fast asleep and dreaming'?
Oh Shannon
The lightning' fell
There's an army down by the riverside
But I might be dreaming'
I can see that you don't believe me
And I might be dreaming'
If I dip into your water
Fall through my reflection
I will shadow myself anyway
Have you ever seen my face
Fast asleep and dreaming'?
And it don't seem right
That I don't get no sleep at night
What's the river gonna know about leaving'?
Oh Shannon
The soldiers are coming'
The guns are drumming' the night away
Rain, rain go away
Come again some other day
When I got time for believing'
Have you ever seen my face
Fast asleep and dreaming'?
Yeah! What is there left to believe in?!
Oh Shannon
I might be dreaming'
I might be wasting' my life away
listening' to you
Down on under the streetlight
You shudder and beat
The edge of the waterway
And I know if I had time
I might dive in your water
Lie right down in the evening rain
I just want this pain, pain to go away
Come again some other day
When I got time for bleeding'
Have you ever seen my face
Fast asleep and dreaming'?
And it don't seem right that I don't get no sleep at night
What's the river gonna know about leaving'?
Oh Shannon
I might be dreaming
song performed by by Counting Crows

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Lullaby
SLEEP, sleep, my treasure,
The long day's pleasure
Has tired the birds, to their nests they creep;
The garden still is
Alight with lilies,
But all the daisies are fast asleep.
Sleep, sleep, my darling,
Dawn wakes the starling,
The sparrow stirs when he sees day break;
But all the meadow
Is wrapped in shadow,
And you must sleep till the daisies wake!
poem by Edith Nesbit

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The singing in god's acre
Out yonder in the moonlight, wherein God's Acre lies,
Go angels walking to and fro, singing their lullabies.
Their radiant wings are folded, and their eyes are bended low,
As they sing among the beds whereon the flowers delight to grow,--
"Sleep, oh, sleep!
The Shepherd guardeth His sheep.
Fast speedeth the night away,
Soon cometh the glorious day;
Sleep, weary ones, while ye may,
Sleep, oh, sleep!"
The flowers within God's Acre see that fair and wondrous sight,
And hear the angels singing to the sleepers through the night;
And, lo! throughout the hours of day those gentle flowers prolong
The music of the angels in that tender slumber-song,--
"Sleep, oh, sleep!
The Shepherd loveth His sheep.
He that guardeth His flock the best
Hath folded them to His loving breast;
So sleep ye now, and take your rest,--
Sleep, oh, sleep!"
From angel and from flower the years have learned that soothing song,
And with its heavenly music speed the days and nights along;
So through all time, whose flight the Shepherd's vigils glorify,
God's Acre slumbereth in the grace of that sweet lullaby,--
"Sleep, oh, sleep!
The Shepherd loveth His sheep.
Fast speedeth the night away,
Soon cometh the glorious day;
Sleep, weary ones, while ye may,--
Sleep, oh, sleep!"
poem by Eugene Field

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Maria's Lullaby
An extract from a poem written for my grandchildren to Brahms Lullaby
Sleep; little mice sleep
Mother will watch over you
Shut your eyes and don't peek
Tomorrow the skies will be blue
Sleep; little mice sleep.
Sleep; little mice sleep
No harm will come whilst I am here
The sun has gone down by the peak
When the day dawns it will appear
Sleep; little mice sleep.
Sleep; little mice sleep
Your father is watching the house
That no owl or cat dares to seek
Harm to creatures or mouse
Sleep; little mice sleep.
Sleep; little mice sleep
Tomorrow you run and play
Now is not time to speak
When you awake a new day
Sleep; little mice sleep.
Sleep; little mice sleep
Rest now for your own sake
Shut your eyes now be asleep
I will be here when you awake
Sleep; little mice sleep.
poem by Thomas Golding

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Rock Me To Sleep, Mother
BACKWARD, turn backward, O Time, in your flight,
Make me a child again just for to-night!
Mother, come back from the echoless shore,
Take me again to your heart as of yore;
Kiss from my forehead the furrows of care,
Smooth the few silver threads out of my hair;
Over my slumbers your loving watch keep;—
Rock me to sleep, mother,—rock me to sleep!
Backward, flow backward, O tide of the years!
I am so weary of toil and of tears,—
Toil without recompense, tears all in vain,—
Take them, and give me my childhood again!
I have grown weary of dust and decay,—
Weary of flinging my soul-wealth away;
Weary of sowing for others to reap;—
Rock me to sleep, mother,—rock me to sleep!
Tired of the hollow, the base, the untrue,
Mother, O mother, my heart calls for you!
Many a summer the grass has grown green,
Blossomed and faded, our faces between:
Yet, with strong yearning and passionate pain,
Long I to-night for your presence again.
Come from the silence so long and so deep;—
Rock me to sleep, mother,—rock me to sleep!
Over my heart, in the days that are flown,
No love like mother-love ever has shone;
No other worship abides and endures,—
Faithful, unselfish, and patient like yours:
None like a mother can charm away pain
From the sick soul and the world-weary brain.
Slumber's soft calms o'er my heavy lids creep;—
Rock me to sleep, mother,—rock me to sleep!
Come, let your brown hair, just lighted with gold,
Fall on your shoulders again as of old;
Let it drop over my forehead to-night,
Shading my faint eyes away from the light;
For with its sunny-edged shadows once more
Haply will throng the sweet visions of yore;
Lovingly, softly, its bright billows sweep;—
Rock me to sleep, mother,—rock me to sleep!
Mother, dear mother, the years have been long
Since I last listened your lullaby song:
Sing, then, and unto my soul it shall seem
Womanhood's years have been only a dream.
Clasped to your heart in a loving embrace,
With your light lashes just sweeping my face,
Never hereafter to wake or to weep;—
Rock me to sleep, mother,—rock me to sleep!
poem by Elizabeth Chase Allen

Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
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Dross coins and wealth
i.
Dross coins and wealth
Dross coins and wealth
Dross coins and wealth
You wallow in them
You think of them again, again
Dross coins and wealth
Dross coins and wealth
Dross coins and wealth
One even grey a blank vacant sterility.
ii.
Round the green hill
The rivulet glideth:
The birds flieth
The owl singeth
How happy is the earth to-day!
iii.
From the small dale
The shepherd voice ariseth
Into a sweet canticle
As the day falleth
As the red dusk cometh
And night in mantle dark
By the next dale is coming
Coming fast:
Coming fast
Like sleep
Sleep
Sleep
Welcome sleep
The night cometh
The skies are darkening:
The stars are twinkling
And one by one
Coming like Morpheus with his wand
Into the next sleep beginning
The eye-lids how drowsy lie
And flicker like torch-lights
Slowly
Slowly
Slowly
Mor pheus is breathing slow
His hot and wanton breath
Over my forehead:
So sleep cometh, welcome sleep.
And dream I with open eyes
And through the night
Look I upon the stars in sleep
And dreaming wake and waking dream again.
poem by Emmanuel George Cefai

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Nursing
O hush, my little baby brother;
Sleep, my love, upon my knee.
What though, dear child, we've lost our mother;
That can never trouble thee.
You are but ten weeks old to-morrow;
What can you know of our loss?
The house is full enough of sorrow.
Little baby, don't be cross.
Peace, cry not so, my dearest love;
Hush, my baby-bird, lie still.-
He's quiet now, he does not move,
Fast asleep is little Will.
My only solace, only joy,
Since the sad day I lost my mother,
Is nursing her own Willy boy,
My little orphan brother.
poem by Charles Lamb

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Just A Dream
Chorus:
Was it just a dream?
Did I feel your devotion?
Dreams are never what they seem
Did we just go through the motions?
I keep your photograph by my bed to remind me
That I was part of your life
I say my prayers to the sandman
That hell find me fast asleep
Sleep has always been kind
And in my dreams youll always be mine
But in the morning when I wake
I remember that my heart does ache
(chorus, repeat)
I admit that I did my bit to deceive you
But sometimes I was afraid
That this day would come
How could you just leave me all alone now
I have always been strong
So I know that I can go on
But right now I feel so dead inside
Oh sleep come to me, cause thats where I hide
(chorus, repeat)
All that I have, all I ask
All my dreams, they fade so fast
Dont wake me up, not today
All my dreams will fade away
And I want him, and I need him
I cant live and Id die just to see him
Just to feel his hands on my face
Smell his skin, and his warm embrace
Cause its all that I have
And its fading so fast
Mmmm, mmmm
Uh, uh huh
Now I have always been strong
So I know that I can go on
But right now I feel so dead inside
Oh sleep come to me, cause thats where I hide
(chorus, repeat)
All that I have, all that I ask
All my dreams, they fade so fast
Dont wake me up, not today
All my dreams will fade away
[was it just a dream? ]
And I want him, and I need him
I cant live and Id die just to see him
Dont wake me up, not today
All my dreams will fade away
[was it just a dream? ]
All that I have, all that I ask
All my dreams, they fade so fast
Dont wake me up, not today
All my dreams will fade away
(repeat and fade)
song performed by by Madonna

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Hypnos
In my sleep, my somber sleep,
My eyes opened wide my somber sleep,
Aside Lord Hypnos, god of silent sleep,
Alone in a cave where no sun shines,
In an alias, along with Zeus alongside the divine,
Forever asleep surround by poppies and hypnogogic plants.
Under the spell of Thánatos, and never wishing grants,
In my sleep, my somber sleep,
Around me Morpheous creeps,
To cast away sounds and never awake from sleep,
I dream under the dark skies of Nyx through the night,
In my dream I percieve Morpheous, Phobetor, and Phantasos as kings,
In my dreams escape and salvation is what they bring!
Through this cave flowed the river of Lethe,
The river of forgetfulness, the river in my mind I see,
My eyes opened wide I stare at the beauty of Salene,
Daughter of titans Hyperion and Theia beautiful is she,
In my somber sleep, Salene casts over me the moon,
Also the goddess of the moon, I fall asleep too soon,
Lord Hypnos god of silent sleep,
Keep me asleep and cast away the grief!
Keep me away from the sun that Helios brings,
Keep me asleep where poppies and hypnogogic plants sings!
Close the black curtains around me, let me sleep,
Let me swim in thoughts of epiphany, in the river of Lethe,
With Endymion forever I sleep under the moon of the lunar diety,
Forever asleep with Mythological Gods of different variety,
Lord Hypnos, forever keep my asleep,
Never more I was my hands in Lethe while I weep.
poem by Kurt Kacich

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The Feeling of Sleep
As I lay here in bed
The only thing I dread
Is when I wake up tomorrow
And wish for the feeling of sleep
As I finally rest form my long days of work
There is no more ache in my legs
As I lay in my cloud bed
I rest my head on nothing but air
As I drift in to sleep
It feels like happiness is in the air
I can’t feel my body
As I can only dream good dreams
For I love the feeling of sleep
As sleep hit its highest point
I’m no longer responsive
For this is the feeling of sleep
As I descend form my sleep
The ache comes back
as if I never fell asleep
seven hours has pass
but it felt like one hour
this the one thing
that I long for
and that is the feeling of sleep
Poem Writer,
By: Jackie Thielman
poem by Jackie Thielman

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Green Tornado
Green tornado fast asleep,
Just above your forest sweep,
High above the planes of gold,
Which drought and hunger will evolve.
Green tornado fast asleep,
Underneath the tigers creep,
Through the forest stalking prey,
While far away the dear do play.
For green tornado fast asleep,
You are mother natures keep,
With heart of gold and blood of fire,
The world is yours while men admire.
poem by Alya casbian

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Im Awake Now
Ive been where the river ran
Im drownin in a sunless sea
Sleep has helped me find my end
You promised me youd set me free
Dont fall asleep to dream
A banshees at my window pane
Theres an angel at my feet
Dont fall asleep to dream
Im awake now
(you cant touch me, I wont sleep no more)
Awake now
In the corner of my mind
Where he sits and waits for me
Theres a wall of confusion building
And the sky begins to bleed on me
Dont fall asleep to dream
Im looking for a way out now
Peace of mind is all I need
Dont fall asleep to dream
Im awake now
(you cant touch me, I wont sleep no more)
Awake now
(you cant touch me, I wont sleep no more)
Awake now
(you cant touch me, I wont sleep no more)
Awake now
Awake now
Awake now
Awake now
Awake now
song performed by by Goo Goo Dolls

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Sleep Forever
Down I lie
Sleeping all day
Still asleep for years
Surrounded by tears
Of friends, relations and further
But still sleep, sleep and sleep forever.
My eyes all closed extremely shut
My body is dry, straight and flat
As I lie in wooden house
Helpless like a dead mouse
Alone with no any other
As I sleep, sleep and sleep forever.
In my best black suit
My voice on mute
Waiting for the judgement
In a new environment
Coping with underground weather
As I sleep, sleep and sleep forever.
I've left all my worth
And ignored all my breath
Tell that I slept to each and every head
For that's a polite word to me as the dead
To come back I'll never
It's a sleep, sleep and sleep forever.
poem by Walani Ndhlovu

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Modern Love XV: I Think She Sleeps
I think she sleeps: it must be sleep, when low
Hangs that abandoned arm toward the floor;
The face turned with it. Now make fast the door.
Sleep on: it is your husband, not your foe.
The Poet's black stage-lion of wronged love,
Frights not our modern dames:--well if he did!
Now will I pour new light upon that lid,
Full-sloping like the breasts beneath. 'Sweet dove,
Your sleep is pure. Nay, pardon: I disturb.
I do not? good!' Her waking infant-stare
Grows woman to the burden my hands bear:
Her own handwriting to me when no curb
Was left on Passion's tongue. She trembles through;
A woman's tremble--the whole instrument:--
I show another letter lately sent.
The words are very like: the name is new.
poem by George Meredith

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Better Sleep.
Suddenly it’s so tired that made me felt asleep.
Laid on deck no feeling slowly slept so deep.
No matter the sounds of how many beeper beeps.
I could not control myself has fallen sleep.
My tired body was unable to sit on my deck.
I pulled it go to my bed really took a sweet sleep
I did not care so many books on the deck junk heap
This is the first experience, I felt better after a little sleep
How wonderful I got back my good spirit.
After this experience I learned afternoon sleep.
In the passed fifty years I have never been so tired.
This might be a signal to train myself get rest.
It is why there in Perking teach children noon sleep.
Yes, sleep can help people get healthier.
Why not go to sleep when you’re tired?
You have better learn the advantageous sleep.
About sleep I remember twenty years ago one day.
My eye balls were uncontrollable automatically leaped
It was my experience during my long way’s drive.
That time I had to park my car aside to get half hour sleep.
I scared to drive any more when I really felt tired.
It is my serious warning to you won’t be risk on this.
poem by Albert Wong

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My angel, I love to watch you sleep........
When the night comes then your voice calm down
When the moon begin to sail in the sky
then your eyes are closing down to sleep
You fall asleep while dim light illuminates your room
I love to watch you sleep my little girl
You sleep like a little angel within your dreams
Your hair falls both sides of your face and
your hands folded in to the blanket
Your pillows and bunnies are speard around you
You breath soft and low while your innocent heart
beat slowly to the merry tune
I love to watch you sleep my little baby
When I want to kiss you to say good night in your sleep
then you toss your head and stretch your little body
and turn around sleep again while holding your pillow
God brought you to me and given you as his gift
and today you are the greatest treasure in my life
Someone to laugh and dance and sing in my home
I love to watch you sleep my angel
Ravi Sathasivam / Sri Lanka
Copyright @2004 Ravi Sathasivam
poem by Ravi Sathasivam

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Nightfall
Let me sleep. The day is past,
And the folded shadows keep
Weary mortals safe and fast.
Let me sleep.
I am all too tired to weep
For the sunlight of the Past
Sunk within the drowning deep.
Treasured vanities I cast
In an unregarded heap.
Time has given rest at last.
Let me sleep.
poem by Robert Fuller Murray

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Little You & I
words by jason mraz & ariel quirolo
music by jason mraz
you close your eyes
you say goodnight in your own special way
you rest your head and you rest your mind
and there you go
there you go so fast, so fast asleep
there you are without a care when or where
but there you are I swear without a care where it is you lay
spiraling spaces tangled up in moments of touching time
trying to find some somewhere sleeping sideways
pockets full of nothing, head exploding from the mind
too much time for dancing in our hair
sister don't be shy between little you and I
mouths in line, tears beside
and we're gonna weep in between the sleep
until we float away into broken promises
too much too hard to keep
and we would sell our souls to the devil if he promised us hell
it's something we already know so well
and it's right on, right on the tip of our tongue
something big that has already begun
(something dead but not quite numb)
and I'm singing it
mouths in line, tears beside
and we're gonna weep in between the sleep
until we float away into broken promises
too much too hard to keep
song performed by by Jason Mraz

Submitted by Lucian Velea
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