Sleep + 

O Sleep, thou kindest minister to man, + 

Silent distiller of the balm of rest, + 

How wonderful thy power, when naught else can, + 

To soothe the torn and sorrow-laden breast! + 

When bleeding hearts no comforter can find, + 

When burdened souls droop under weight of woe, + 

When thought is torture to the troubled mind, + 

When grief-relieving tears refuse to flow; + 

’Tis then thou comest on soft-beating wings, + 

And sweet oblivion’s peace from them is shed; + 

But ah, the old pain that the waking brings! + 

That lives again so soon as thou art fled! + 

Man, why should thought of death cause thee to weep; + 

Since death be but an endless, dreamless sleep? + 