Classic and Contemporary Poetry
RESPITE, by WILLIAM DEAN HOWELLS Poet's Biography First Line: Drowsing, the other afternoon, I lay Last Line: That now again beneath their lids are hot. Alternate Author Name(s): Howells, W. D. Subject(s): Death; Dreams; Mothers; Dead, The; Nightmares | ||||||||
Drowsing, the other afternoon, I lay In that sweet interlude that falls between Waking and sleeping, when all being is seen Of one complexion, and the vague dreams play Among the thoughts, and the thoughts go astray Among the dreams. My mother, who has been Dead almost half my life, appeared to lean Above me, a boy, in a house far away, That once was home, and all the troubled years That have been since were as if they were not. The voices that are hushed were in my ears, The looks and motions that I had forgot Were in my eyes; and they disowned the tears That now again beneath their lids are hot. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...VARIATIONS: 14 by CONRAD AIKEN VARIATIONS: 18 by CONRAD AIKEN LIVE IT THROUGH by DAVID IGNATOW A DREAM OF GAMES by JOSEPHINE JACOBSEN THE DREAM OF WAKING by RANDALL JARRELL APOLOGY FOR BAD DREAMS by ROBINSON JEFFERS GIVE YOUR WISH LIGHT by ROBINSON JEFFERS |
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