European Elegies/Winter/A vain appeal
30.A VAIN APPEAL
O Sleep, thou gentle son of shadowy Night,
Dewy and silent, thou that bringest peace
To fevered mortals and serene release
From the harsh tyranny of life's mad might,
Help now my heart, that sickens with the blight
Of sleepless hours, my limbs whose pains increase;
Fly hither, Sleep, to bid my sorrows cease;
Brood with thy dusky wings upon my sight!
Dewy and silent, thou that bringest peace
To fevered mortals and serene release
From the harsh tyranny of life's mad might,
Help now my heart, that sickens with the blight
Of sleepless hours, my limbs whose pains increase;
Fly hither, Sleep, to bid my sorrows cease;
Brood with thy dusky wings upon my sight!
Where now is silence, fugitive from day
And sunshine? Where are the light dreams that sport
With hesitating feet about thy way?
Alas, in vain I call and vainly court
These vague and chilling shades! Sleep has no sway
O'er my hard couch, my nights grim past support.
And sunshine? Where are the light dreams that sport
With hesitating feet about thy way?
Alas, in vain I call and vainly court
These vague and chilling shades! Sleep has no sway
O'er my hard couch, my nights grim past support.
From the Italian of Giovanni della Casa.