by Siegfried Lorraine Sassoon (1886 - 1967)
Language: English
Sleep; and my song shall build about your bed A paradise of dimness. You shall feel The folding of tired wings; and peace will dwell Throned in your silence: and one hour shall hold Summer, and midnight, and immensity Lulled to forgetfulness. For, where you dream, The stately gloom of foliage shall embower Your slumbering thought with tapestries of blue. And there shall be no memory of the sky, Nor sunlight with its cruelty of swords. But, to your soul that sinks from deep to deep Through drowned and glimmering colour, Time shall be Only slow rhythmic swaying; and your breath; And roses in the darkness; and my love.
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Composition:
- Set to music by Michael Ippolito (b. 1985), "Slumber song", 2013 [ baritone, SATB chorus, flute or piccolo, trumpet, percussion, organ, and piano ], from Six Sassoon Songs, no. 6, confirmed with a score
Text Authorship:
- by Siegfried Lorraine Sassoon (1886 - 1967), "Slumber-song", appears in Picture-Show, no. 26, first published 1919
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Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-10-19
Line count: 14
Word count: 109