My Cart 
Login 

Previous

Early Rising
by
John Godfrey Saxe


Next
 

"God bless the man who first invented sleep!"
        So Sancho Panza said, and so say I:
And bless him, also, that he didn't keep
        His great discovery to himself; nor try
To make itas the lucky fellow might
 
A close monopoly by patent-right!

Yes bless the man who first invented sleep,
        (I really can't avoid the iteration.)
But blast the man, with curses loud and deep,
        Whate'er the rascal's name, or age, or station,
Who first invented, and went round advising,
That artificial cut-off Early Rising!

"Rise with the lark, and with the lark to bed,"
        Observes some solemn, sentimental owl;
Maxims like these are very cheaply said;
        But, ere you make yourself a fool or fowl,
Pray just inquire about his rise and fall,
And whether larks have any beds at all!

The time for honest folks to be a-bed
        Is in the morning, if I reason right;
And he who cannot keep his precious head
        Upon his pillow till it's fairly light,
And so enjoy his forty morning winks,
Is up to knavery; or else he drinks!

Thomson, who sung about the "Seasons," said
        It was a glorious thing to rise in season;
But then he said it lying in his bed,
        At ten o'clock A.M., the very reason
He wrote so charmingly. The simple fact is
His preaching wasn't sanctioned by his practice.

'Tis, doubtless, well to be sometimes awake, 
        Awake to duty, and awake to truth,
But when, alas! a nice review we take
        Of our best deeds and days, we find, in sooth,
The hours that leave the slightest cause to weep
Are those we passed in childhood or asleep!

'Tis beautiful to leave the world awhile
        For the soft visions of the gentle night;
And free, at last, from mortal care or guile,
        To live as only in the angel's sight,
In sleep's sweet realm so cosily shut in,
Where, at the worst, we only dream of sin!

So let us sleep, and give the Maker praise.
        I like the lad who, when his father thought
To clip his morning nap by hackneyed phrase
        Of vagrant worm by early songster caught,
Cried, "Served him right! it's not at all surprising;
The worm was punished, sir, for early rising!"

 

This poem is in the public domain.

 

 


John Godfrey Saxe (1816-1887) was an American lawyer, satirist, and poet. Born in Vermont to a family of German descent, John was a popular and entertaining speaker, but his various efforts to win political office were mostly unsuccessful. His later years were filled with tragedy and, ultimately, this lively, outgoing public figure succumbed to depression and became a recluse.

 


Post New Comment:
jonidee61:
I enjoyed this, very clever and fun.
Posted 01/09/2016 09:12 AM
cork:
I am returning to bed.
Posted 01/09/2016 08:57 AM


Contents of this web site and all original text and images therein are copyright © by Your Daily Poem. All rights reserved.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Purchasing books through any poet's Amazon links helps to support Your Daily Poem.
The material on this site may not be copied, reproduced, downloaded, distributed, transmitted, stored, altered, adapted,
or otherwise used in any way without the express written permission of the owner.