"The Sleeper"
As Ann came in one summer's day,
She felt that she must creep,
So silent was the clear cool house,
It seemed a house of sleep.
And sure, when she pushed open the door,
Rapt in the stillness there,
Her mother sat, with stooping head,
Asleep upon a chair;
Fast—fast asleep; her two hands laid
Loose-folded on her knee,
So that her small unconscious face
Looked half unreal to be:
So calmly lit with sleep's pale light
Each feature was; so fair
[ . . . ]
Walter de la Mare's poem "The Sleeper" was published in Georgian Poetry, 1911-1912. To read this poem in full in a digitized version of this publication, follow the link(s) below: