A POEM ON SLEEP

 

          A POEM ON SLEEP

‘Sleep’ is defined as “a condition of body and mind that typically recurs for several hours every night, in which the eyes are closed, the postural muscles relaxed, the activity of the brain altered, and consciousness of the surroundings practically suspended.”

Some of the synonyms of this word are : rest, slumber, nap, doze, siesta, etc.

The English poet-dramatist William Shakespeare (1564-1616} calls it “Our foster-nurse of nature in repose.”

A sleepless man looks  fatigued, lethargic, irritable, depressed, stressed and nervous. 

The English writer and magistrate  Henry Fielding (1707-1754) says: One hour’s sleep before midnight , is worth two after.

Roman poet, Publius Ovidius Naso, known in English as Ovid (43 BC---18 A.D) said: Sleep , thou repose of all things; thou gentlest of the duties; thou peace of the mind, from which care flies; who dost soothe the hearts of men wearied with the toils of the day, and re-fittest them for labour.

Finally, a sonnet entitled Sleep by the English poet, courtier, and soldier Sir Philip Sidney (1554-1586):

Come sleep; O Sleep ! The certain knot of peace.

The baiting - place of wit, the balm of woe,

The poor man’s wealth, the prisoner’s release,

Th’ indifferent judge between the high and the low;

With shield of proof shield me from out the prease

O those fierce darts Despair at me doth throw:

O make in me those civil wars to ease;

I will good tribute pay, if thou do so.

Take thou of me smooth pillows, sweetest bed,

A chamber deaf to noise and blind of light ,

A rosy garland and a weary head;

And if these things, as being thine by right,

Move not thy heavy grace, thou shalt in me,

Livelier than elsewhere, Stella’s image see.

            ***********

G.R.Kanwal

28 June 2024