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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


CRADLE SONG FOR SUMMER by ANONYMOUS

First Line: "SLEEP, MY CHILDIE, SLEEP"
Last Line: "SLEEP, MY CHILDIE, SLEEP"

Sleep, my childie, sleep
I' the hush of evening deep,
Gone the last long-lingering beam
From where the tender violets dream
With closed eyes by the woodland stream:
Sleep, my childie, sleep.

Sleep, my childie, sleep;
Fresh dews of twilight creep
Through folded blooms of eglantine,
Speedwell and harebell and woodbine;
Yet open the large white bugles shine:
Sleep, my childie, sleep.

Sleep, my childie, sleep.
Now dewy planets creep
Through skies of fading purple-rose,
Yon elm full-foliaged overflows
With those love-songs the blackbird knows:
Sleep, my childie, sleep.

Sleep, my childie, sleep;
Now drowsy birdies keep
More silence; rare the cuckoo's note,
The dove's low plaint hath ceased to float,
Sweet breezes flutter in and out:
Sleep, my childie, sleep.



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