Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

SLEEPLESSNESS by PO CHU-YI

First Line: I CANNOT REST WHEN THE COOL IS GONE FROM JUNE
Last Line: THE SLEEP THAT NIGHT DENIES.
Subject(s): INSOMNIA; SLEEPLESSNESS;
I cannot rest when the cool is gone from June,
But haunt the dim verandah till the moon
Fades from the dawn's pursuit.
The stirrup-fires beneath the terrace flare;
Over the star-domed court a low, sad air
Roams from a hidden lute.

This endless heat doth urge me to extremes;
Yet cool of autumn waits till the wild goose screams
In the track of whirling skies.
My hand is laid upon the cup once more,
And of the red-gold vintage I implore
The sleep that night denies.






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