English Poetry II: From Collins to Fitzgerald.
The Harvard Classics. 1909–14. |
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| 350. The Sleeping Beauty |
| | | Samuel Rogers (1763—1855) |
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| SLEEP on, and dream of Heaven awhile— | |
| Tho’ shut so close thy laughing eyes, | |
| Thy rosy lips still wear a smile | |
| And move, and breathe delicious sighs! | |
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| Ah, now soft blushes tinge her cheeks | 5 |
| And mantle o’er her neck of snow: | |
| Ah, now she murmurs, now she speaks | |
| What most I wish—and fear to know! | |
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| She starts, she trembles, and she weeps! | |
| Her fair hands folded on her breast: | 10 |
| —And now, how like a saint she sleeps! | |
| A seraph in the realms of rest! | |
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| Sleep on secure! Above controul | |
| Thy thoughts belong to Heaven and thee: | |
| And may the secret of thy soul | 15 |
| Remain within its sanctuary! | |
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