Classic Poem

The torment of consuming thought,
That vulture of the breast,
Must bide with me till Death has brought
The benison of rest;
But when the weary watch I keep
In Time has past away,
Ah, let my sleep be long and deep,—
Forever and a day!

More ghost than man, a fleeting wraith,
Affrighted and aghast,
I wander 'mid the wrecks of faith
And ashes of the past:
Bleak o'er my life the winds that sweep
Have left it cold and gray;
Ah, let my sleep be long and deep,—
Forever and a day!

I've joy'd; I've mourn'd; I've lov'd and lost
The pearl of human bliss;
My spirit has been tempest-tost
On a fair demon's kiss:
For me no woman's love will weep,
No woman's heart will pray:
Ah, let my sleep be long and deep,—
Forever and a day!

I've suffer'd: words could never tell
The bitterness of wrong!
My heart has been affliction's hell,
While peace was all my song:
I'm weary: I'd be glad to creep
Into my bed of clay:
Ah, let my sleep be long and deep,—
Forever and a day!