Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900.

By AliceBrown

1301 Sleep

WITHDRAW thee, soul, from strife.

Enter thine unseen bark,

And sail across the dark,

The silent sea of life.

Leave Care and Grief, feared now no more,

To wave and beckon from the shore.

Thy tenement is bare.

Shut are the burning eyes,

Ears deaf against surprise,

Limbs in a posture fair.

The body sleeps, unheeding thee,

And thou, my sailing soul, art free.

Rouse not to choose thy way;

To make it long or short,

Or seek some golden port

In haste, ere springs the day.

Desire is naught, and effort vain:

Here he who seeks shall ne’er attain.

Dream-winged, thy boat may drift

Where lands lie warm in light;

Or sail, with silent flight,

Oblivion cleaving swift.

Still, dusk or dawning, art thou blest,

O Fortune’s darling, dowered with rest!