Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, VENETIAN FOLK LULLABY, by ANONYMOUS


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

VENETIAN FOLK LULLABY, by                    
First Line: "sleep, sleep, that hover'st round"
Last Line: She goes a-singing to her child this song
Subject(s): Sleep


Sleep, Sleep, that hover'st round,
Looking for this baby boy;
Sleep, I call thee once again,
Come hither, sweet deceiver;
Lure him on to rest
For hours, by two or three!
For moments, by two or three!

O Sleep, O Sleep, O thou beguiler, Sleep,
Beguile this child, and in beguilement keep,
Keep him three hours, and keep him moments three;
Until I call beguile this child for me.
And when I call I'll call:--My root, my heart,
The people say my only wealth thou art.
Thou art my only wealth; I tell thee so.
Now, bit by bit, this boy to sleep will go;
He falls and falls to sleeping bit by bit,
Like the green wood what time the fire is lit,
Like to green wood that never flame can dart,
Heart of thy mother, of thy father heart!
Like to green wood that never flame can shoot.
Sleep thou, my cradled hope, sleep thou, my root,
My cradled hope, my spirit's strength and stay;
Mother, who bore thee, wears her life away;
Her life she wears away, and all day long
She goes a-singing to her child this song.





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