To a Sleeping Infant.
Sleep on, my child, sleep on,1
And be thy dreams of bliss,2
That brings again the smile upon3
The cheek, now pale and wo-begone,4
In happier worlds than this !5
Sleep on, sleep on, my child,6
Thou will but wake to care :7
Without is but the trackless wild,8
With horrors vast on horrors pil’d,9
Within but blank despair!10
How wan thy cheek hath grown,11
The cheek that was so fair !12
The cherub look I lov’d has flown,13
And famine’s bitter blast hath blown,14
Among the roses there !15
Sleep on, my child, sleep on,16
And be thy dreams of bliss,17
That brings again the smile upon18
That cheek, now pale and wo-begone,19
In happier worlds than this !20