The Mind
To Sleep (O gentle Sleep! do they belong to thee)
From Poems, in Two Volumes (1807)
O gentle Sleep! do they belong to thee,
These twinklings of oblivion? Thou dost love
To sit in meekness, like the brooding Dove,
A Captive never wishing to be free.
This tiresome night, O Sleep! thou art to me
A Fly, that up and down himself doth shove
Upon a fretful rivulet, now above,
Now on the water vex'd with mockery.
I have no pain that calls for patience, no;
Hence am I cross and peevish as a child:
Am pleas'd by fits to have thee for my foe,
Yet ever willing to be reconciled:
O gentle Creature! do not use me so,
But once and deeply let me be beguiled.
Cite this poem
MLA
Wordsworth, William. “To Sleep (O gentle Sleep! do they belong to thee).” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/wordsworth/49/.
Chicago
Wordsworth, William. “To Sleep (O gentle Sleep! do they belong to thee).” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/wordsworth/49/.
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