Sleep Poems

Popular Sleep Poems
Disabled
by Wilfred Owen

He sat in a wheeled chair, waiting for dark,
And shivered in his ghastly suit of grey,
Legless, sewn short at elbow. Through the park
Voices of boys rang saddening like a hymn,
Voices of play and pleasure after day,
Till gathering sleep had mothered them from him.

About this time Town used to swing so gay
When glow-lamps budded in the light blue trees,
And girls glanced lovelier as the air grew dim,-

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Lament
by Dylan Thomas

When I was a windy boy and a bit
And the black spit of the chapel fold,
(Sighed the old ram rod, dying of women),
I tiptoed shy in the gooseberry wood,
The rude owl cried like a tell-tale tit,
I skipped in a blush as the big girls rolled
Nine-pin down on donkey's common,
And on seesaw sunday nights I wooed
Whoever I would with my wicked eyes,
The whole of the moon I could love and leave

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The Weed
by Elizabeth Bishop

I dreamed that dead, and meditating,
I lay upon a grave, or bed,
(at least, some cold and close-built bower).
In the cold heart, its final thought
stood frozen, drawn immense and clear,
stiff and idle as I was there;
and we remained unchanged together
for a year, a minute, an hour.
Suddenly there was a motion,
as startling, there, to every sense

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The Indian Burying Ground
by Philip Freneau

In spite of all the learn'd have said;
I still my old opinion keep,
The posture, that we give the dead,
Points out the soul's eternal sleep.

Not so the ancients of these lands --
The Indian, when from life releas'd
Again is seated with his friends,
And shares gain the joyous feast.


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The Duel
by Eugene Field

The gingham dog and the calico cat
Side by side on the table sat;
'T was half-past twelve, and (what do you think!)
Nor one nor t' other had slept a wink!
The old Dutch clock and the Chinese plate
Appeared to know as sure as fate
There was going to be a terrible spat.
(I wasn't there; I simply state
What was told to me by the Chinese plate!)


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Recent Sleep Poems
Our Beach Vacation
by Dr. Robert Ippaso

Wait
This can't be a mistake

The morning light
Is just too bright

We've overslept
Curled up in bed

Now we must rush

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Last Look
by Evelyn Judy Buehler

Graceful, tall grasses
A raspberry sun peers through
from the purple sky
steps ahead of tomorrow
to nature's joy and sorrow.

Burgundy fever
smoking beautiful colors
when shadows run wild!
Must get one more glimpse of red

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Midnights
by Everleigh Blackburn

At the stroke of midnight,
The world falls silent and still.
The moon shines brightly above,
Casting shadows that chill.

The stars twinkle and dance,
In the night sky above.
A gentle breeze whispers secrets,
Of lost dreams and love.


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Sweet Crickets
by Amy Michelle Mosier

Sweet crickets, the tune
You’re playing tempts me to sleep.
By your tune, I will drift off
Better to a place dark and deep.
The low moon and toads
As well as I are your audience.
Why, even the saguaro blooms
Have opened with interest!
The night will soon bend over
And kiss my eyelids closed.

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Manifest Destiny (Or: Let’s Do It)
by Jessica Leininger

Four horsemen
Appear in our nightmares.

Like that perfect ten,
That they are but dreams.

Our demons exercise
While we sleep.

This means we wake to

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Popular Poetry Topics
Popular Famous Poets about Sleep
  • William Blake
    William Blake (39 poems about Sleep)
    28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827 / London
  • Algernon Charl Swinburne
    Algernon Charl Swinburne (38 poems about Sleep)
    5 April 1837 - 10 April 1909 / London
  • Rupert Brooke
    Rupert Brooke (32 poems about Sleep)
    1887-1915 / Warwickshire / England
  • Eugene Field
    Eugene Field (30 poems about Sleep)
    2 September 1850 - 4 November 1895 / St Louis / Missouri / United States
  • Philip Levine
    Philip Levine (28 poems about Sleep)
    January 10, 1928 / Detroit, Michigan
  • Robert Herrick
    Robert Herrick (24 poems about Sleep)
    1591-1674 / London / England
  • Percy Bysshe Shelley
    Percy Bysshe Shelley (23 poems about Sleep)
    1792-1822 / Horsham / England
  •  Jean De La Fontaine
    Jean De La Fontaine (21 poems about Sleep)
    1621 - 1695 / Champagne / France
  • Emily Pauline Johnson
    Emily Pauline Johnson (20 poems about Sleep)
    Tekahionwake] (10 March 1861 – 7 March 1913 / Chiefswood, Ontario
  • John Keats
    John Keats (20 poems about Sleep)
    31 October 1795 – 23 February 1821 / London, England
Popular Poets about Sleep From Members