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Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
I cannot sleep! my fervid brain Calls up the vanished Past again, And throws its misty splendors deep Into the pallid realms of sleep! A breath from that far-distant shore Comes freshening ever more and more, And wafts o'er intervening seas Sweet odors from the Hesperides! A wind, that through the corridor Just stirs the curtain, and no more, And, touching the aolian strings, Faints with the burden that it brings! Come back! ye friendships long departed! That like o'erflowing streamlets started, And now are dwindled, one by one, To stony channels in the sun! Come back! ye friends, whose lives are ended, Come back, with all that light attended, Which seemed to darken and decay When ye arose and went away!
They come, the shapes of joy and woe, The airy crowds of long ago, The dreams and fancies known of yore, That have been, and shall be no more. They change the cloisters of the night Into a garden of delight; They make the dark and dreary hours Open and blossom into flowers! I would not sleep! I love to be Again in their fair company; But ere my lips can bid them stay, They pass and vanish quite away! Alas! our memories may retrace Each circumstance of time and place, Season and scene come back again, And outward things unchanged remain; The rest we cannot reinstate; Ourselves we can not re-create; Nor set our souls to the same key Of the remembered harmony!
Rest! rest! Oh, give me rest and peace! The thought of life that ne'er shall cease Has something in it like despair, A weight I am too weak to bear! Sweeter to this afflicted breast The thought of never-ending rest! Sweeter the undisturbed and deep Tranquillity of endless sleep!
A flash of lightning, out of which LUCIFER appears, in the garb of a travelling Physician.
The airy crowds from long ago,
I cannot sleep! my intense mind Brings back the lost Past once more, And casts its hazy glories deep Into the pale lands of sleep! A breeze from that far-off shore Comes refreshing more and more, And carries over distant seas Sweet scents from the Hesperides! A breeze that through the hallway Just moves the curtain, and no more, And, touching the musical strings, Faints under the weight it brings! Come back! you friendships long gone! That like overflowing streams began, And now have shrunk, one by one, To dry channels in the sun! Come back! you friends, whose lives have ended, Come back, with all the light you brought, Which seemed to fade and decay When you rose and went away!
They come, the forms of joy and sorrow, The dreams and fancies known before, That have been, and will be no more. They transform the cloisters of the night Into a garden of joy; They make the dark and dreary hours Open and bloom into flowers! I would not sleep! I love to be Again in their lovely company; But before my lips can ask them to stay, They pass and disappear completely! Alas! our memories can trace Each detail of time and place, Seasons and scenes return again, And outward things stay the same; The rest we cannot bring back; We cannot recreate ourselves; Nor set our souls to the same tune Of the remembered harmony! Rest! rest! Oh, grant me rest and peace!
The thought of life that never ends Has something in it like despair, A weight I am too weak to carry! Sweeter to this troubled heart The thought of endless rest! Sweeter the calm and deep Tranquility of eternal sleep! A flash of lightning, from which LUCIFER appears, in the guise
of a traveling Physician.