Poetry and Sleep
Poems From Around the World
Sommeil, Sommeil
French Lullaby
Sommeil, sommeil, viens viens viens
Sommeil, sommeil, viens de quelque part
Sommeil, sommeil, viens viens viens
Sommeil, sommeil, viens de quelque part
Le sommeil ne veut pas venir
Le petit enfant ne veut pas dormir
Sommeil, sommeil…quelque part
Le sommeil s’en est allé
À cheval sur une chèvre
Il reviendra demain matin
À cheval sur un poulain
Sommeil, sommeil…quelque part
Viens à travers les vignes
Pour endormir les filles
Viens du coin du feu
Pour endormir les petits garçon
Sommeil, sommeil…quelque part
Maman est au coin du feu
Elle fait rôtir du mihas
Papa porte un oiseau
Dans la coupe de son chapeau
Sommeil, sommeil…quelque part Sleep, Sleep
French Lullaby
Sleep, sleep, come on come on come
Sleep, sleep, come from somewhere
Sleep, sleep, come on come on come
Sleep, sleep, come from somewhere
Sleep will not come
The baby will not sleep
Sleep, sleep…somewhere
Sleep, is gone
Straddling a goat
He will return tomorrow morning
Riding a pony
Sleep, sleep…somewhere
Come through the vineyards
To lull the daughters
Come fireside
To lull the little boys
Sleep, sleep…somewhere
Mom is at the fireside
She roasts the Mihas
Dad wears a bird
In the section of his hat
Sleep, sleep…somewhere
Oda a un Reloj en la Noche
Pablo Neruda
En la noche, en tu mano
brilló como luciérnaga
mi reloj.
Oí
su cuerda:
como un susurro seco
salía
de tu mano invisible.
Tu mano entonces
volvió a mi pecho oscuro
a recoger mi sueño y su latido.
El reloj
siguió cortando el tiempo
con su pequeña sierra.
Como en un bosque
caen
fragmentos de madera,
mínimas gotas, trozos
de ramajes o nidos,
sin que cambia el silencio,
sin que la fresca oscuridad termine,
así
siguió el reloj cortando
desde tu mano invisible
tiempo, tiempo,
y cayeron
minutos como hajas,
fibras de tiempo roto,
pequeñas plumas negras.
Como en el bosque
olíamos raíces,
el agua en algún sitio desprendía
una gotera gruesa
como uva mojada.
Un pequeño molino
molía noche,
la sombra susurraba
cayendo de tu mano
y llenaba la tierra.
Polvo,
tierra, distancia
molía y molía
mi reloj en la noche,
desde tu mano.
Yo puse
mi brazo
bajo tu cuello invisible
bajo su peso tibio,
y en mi mano
cayó el tiempo,
la noche,
pequeños ruidos
de madera y de bosque,
de noche dividida,
de fragmentos de sombra,
de agua que cae y cae:
entonces
cayó el sueño
desde el reloj y desde
tus dos manos dormidas,
cayó como agua oscura
de los bosques,
del reloj
a tu cuerpo,
de ti hacia los países,
agua oscura,
tiempo que cae
y corre
adentro de nosotros.
Y así fue aquella noche,
sombra y espacio, tierra
y tiempo,
algo que corre y cae
y pasa.
Y así todas las noches
van por la tierra,
no dejan sino un vago
aroma negro,
cae una hoja,
una gota
en la tierra
apaga su sonido,
duerme el bosque, las aguas,
las praderas,
las campanas,
los ojos.
Te oigo y respiras,
amor mío
dormimos.
Ode to a Watch at Night
Pablo Neruda
At the night, in your hand
my watch glowed
like a firefly.
I
heard
its ticking:
a dry whisper
escaping
from your unseen hand.
Then your hand again
touched my chest in the dark,
sheltering the cadence of my dreams.
The watch
kept cutting time
with its tiny saw.
As in a
forest
fragments
chips of wood fall,
droplets, bits
of branches or nests
without the silence changing,
without altering the cool darkness,
so
the watch kept cutting
time, time,
and minutes
fell like leaves,
fibres of shattered time,
small black feathers.
As in the woods
we used to smell roots,
the water somewhere released
a fat plopping
as of wet grapes.
A little mill
milled night,
the shadow whispered
falling from your hand
and filled the earth.
Dust,
earth, distance
my watch in the night
ground and ground
from your hand.
I placed
my arm
under your invisible neck
under its warm weight
and in my hand
time fell,
the night,
little noises
of wood and of forest,
of divided night,
of fragments of shadow,
of water that falls and falls:
then
sleep fell
from the watch and from
both your sleeping hands,
it fell like a dark water
from the forests,
from the watch
to your body,
out of you
it made the nations
dark water,
time that falls
and runs
inside us.
And that was the way it was that night,
shadow and space, Earth
and time,
something that runs and falls
and passes.
And that is the way all the nights
go over the Earth,
leaving nothing but a vague
black odour,
a leaf falls,
a drop
on the Earth,
its sound stops,
the forest sleeps, the waters,
the meadows,
the fields,
the eyes.
I hear you and breathe,
my love,
we sleep.
Slaap Soet
Boeti
(Afrikaans)
Sluimer waak jou teen die draak
Wat wakker in jou het
Verkrag die gevoelens in duister gedagtes
Tot jy neerval op jou bed.
Die dag bring sonde om jou heen
Jou siel versondig dan
Veg teen mislukking tot jou vuiste bloei
Want die Here weet jy kan.
n Droom
Sussa
(Afrikaans)
Ek het gisteraand n droom gedroom.
Van katte en Kiwis en aarbeie en room
Ek kon vlieg en ek kon bely
Het doer bo in die wolke gebly
Vlerke het ek nie gehad nie
Want daarby het ek nie gebaat nie
Ek het verkies om te vlieg op die vlerke
Van genade, die vlerke van geloof
Op die manier hoef ek my nie af te sloof
Ek kon vertrou op God en kan ek nie nog
steeds nie?
Miskien was dit nie net n droom gewees nie...
Sleep Sweetly
Boeti
(Afrikaans)
Slumber watches over you against the Dragon
That keeps you awake
Overpower your feelings of dark thoughts
Till you fall and relax on your bed
The day brings problems for you to absorb
And preys on your soul
Fight against failure till your fists bleed
Because the Almighty knows you can.
A dream or was it?
Sussa
(Afrikaans)
Last night I dreamt a dream.
Of cats and Kiwis and strawberries and
Cream
I could fly and confess
That I lived high up in the clouds
I did not have wings
Because with them I could not really benefit any way
I chose to fly on the wings of graciousness
The wings of faith
In this manner I did not have to worry
I could put my trust in God and can I not do
so now as well?
Maybe it was not only a dream…
Khwaab Martay Naheen
Ahmed Faraz
(Pakistani)
Khwaab dil hai.n, nn aa.Nkhe.n,
na ssaa.Nse.n ke jo
rezaa, rezaa huwe to bikhar jaaye.nge
jism kii maut se ye bhii mar jaaye.nge
Khwaab maratay nahii.n
khwaab to raushanii hai.n,
navaa hai.n, havaa hai.n
zulm kii dozKho.n se bhii phukatay nahii.n
raushanii aur navaa aur havaa ke aalam
maqtalo.n me.n pahu.Nch kar bhii jhukatay
nahii.n
Khwaab to harf hai.n
Khwaab to nuur hai.n
Khwaab suqraat hai.n
Khwaab mansuur hai.n
Dreams Do Not Die
Ahmed Faraz
(Pakistani)
Dreams are not heart,
nor eyes or breath
Which shattered, will scatter (or)
Die with the Death of the body
Dreams do not die
But dreams are light, voice, wind,
Which cannot be stopped by mountains
black,
Which do not perish in the hells of cruelty,
Ensigns of light and voice and wind,
Bow not, even in abattoirs.
But dreams are letters
But dreams are illumination
Dreams are Socartes
Dreams—divine victory!
Here Sleeps the Girl
Parveen Shakir
(Pakistani poem)
Here sleeps the girl
Whose eyes bought dreams from sleep
And then the night of rendezvous
She spent with her loneliness.
It was a strange waiting! Pawning the whole city
T the shylock of fate
Just for the convenience
Of one half-lit casement!
But when the star
On whose strength
The moon had been challenged
Was about to appear on her forehead
Aurora was already up
Tolling the kneil of tryst!
Tonight
Faiz Ahmed Faiz
(Pakistani Poem)
Do not strike the chord of sorrow tonight!
Days burning with pain turn to ashes.
Who knows what happens tomorrow?
Last night is lost; tomorrow’s frontier wiped out:
Who knows if there will be another dawn?
Life is nothing, it’s only tonight!
Tonight we can be what the gods are!
Do not strike the chord of sorrow, tonight!
Do not repeat stories of sufferings now,
Do not complain, let you fate play its role,
Do not think of tomorrows, give a damn—
Shed no tears for seasons gone by,
All sighs and cries wind up their tales,
Oh, do not strike the same chord again!
Lori (Lullaby)
Fahmida Riaz
(Pakistani Poem)
Dearest your countenance like the moon
A piece of my heart
Dearest I keep on looking
Dearest you live in my eyes
Dearest I rock you cradled in my arms
Dearest clutching you to my heart
Dearest sparkle in my eye listen
Your mother’s entire life,
A cataract of gushing tears
Kept on passing.
This bowl is filled with that fresh water;
Dearest with this only will I wash your flower hands, lotus feet
Hug you with my eyes
Sorrowful life constantly I wept, seeing you the tears stopped
Unfurled and blossomed into laughter
My shaken motherhood has a lot of hope for you
It seems like yesterday’s news to me
I remember that night
When you were born
That night was very dark
Labour tormented with pain
But upon hearing your cry a candlewick was set to light
Your beautiful limbs
Fresh, fresh, healthy and prospering,
Dearest can’t manage to kiss you
Dearest from shaking and shivering
I know a wolf is stood on my doorway
Drinking my blood, consuming my youth
Wolf nourished by money
One who rules the world
Cursing us from age to age
Because of whom in this world
Thinking is considered a crime
To love—a major sin
He has tasted the blood of a human spirit
Now watching your every move
Dearest cannot sleep at night
Dearest I am constantly awake
Dearest borne of my womb listen
This world is one of injustice
What skills can I teach you?
Women who came and went
Embroidering sprigs on net upon net
Filling platter upon platter
Which the wolf ate
Today every kitchen is empty
What can I show you
What skill can I teach you!
Whenever I take you in my arms
I hear the call of time
I hear great battlecries
I hear the call to war
I hear this again and again
Your skill is “bravery”!
Listen my dear new little one
You will not be alone
Your friends will be by your side
Your companions, your friends
Will be with you at every step
Many hands will be held together
This is my one wish.
Mom Mahal/Wax Palace
Kishwar Naheed
(Pakistani Poem)
Before my marriage my ma
would get frightened in her dreams
Her terrifying screams would awaken me
I would awaken her, ask her why
And with vacant eyes she would stare
She did not remember those dreams.
One night frightened in her dream
she did not scream
fearful she had hugged me tight
I asked her why?
While offering a prayer of thanks she opened her eyes, to say
“In a dream I had seen,
You drowning and myself jumping into the river to save you”
And that night lightening struck
Setting alight my fiancé and our buffalo.
One night ma was sleeping and I was awake
Ma kept clenching and unclenching her fist over and over,
It looked as if the effort of holding on to something had tired her
Yet again she clenches her fist to muster up courage
I awakened ma
But ma declined from telling me her dream
Since that day my sleep has flown away
I have come to the other courtyard
Now when we dream both ma and I scream aloud
And when someone asks
Then we say
We cannot remember our dreams
Jurm vada/Unlawful Promise
Zehra Nigah
(Pakistani Poem)
My child a thousand times have I told you this story
Sometimes nestled in a lullaby
Sometimes in a cradle of words lulled and cuddled you to sleep
I have caressed your warm cheeks with my cold lips
I have made a promise to you
That very promise which has been written as divine decree for human beings,
Of your security, of honour, of success
My child!
The tired, exhausted girl in the story
Was I, not a princess
My house was the one which burnt from a Magical Palace to a desert in a flash
Where eyes remained as needles
Dreams were mine
Which had surrounded me
No strangers they were all known to me
Where her story was
There my reality lay
There where she became a stone frieze
There my love lay
Thousands open spaces on fire
The rain was bloody
All this was my story
All this had happened to me
In the story, my child
That tired, exhausted girl
Was I, and not a princess
Where the story ended
My child!
There you were
A symbol of happiness in life
A continuous dream of hope
Guarantor of the honesty of friendship
Where every story had a happy ending only,
My child! you were there, you were there.
My eyes were heavy, wounded with the measure of a promise
Your image was a balm to those wounds
My hands were shaking from the remnants of an incomplete promise
Your companionship was a constant comfort
I had faith
I am dust
You beauty and adornment
I was conscious
I am fear
You peace and comfort
I am the past
But you the picture of enlightenment
I am complexity
But you the picture of easy hope
My child!
Today my faith and conscience are both guilty
With my head bowed I hear my criminal offence
Plucking thorns instead of flowers from a field of dreams
Do you know
What the allegation is
That same promise which has been written as divine decree for all
Human beings
Of your security, of honour, of success
Sleep
Rangarajan Kazhiyur Mannar
(Indian Poem)
Sleep, a solace to all mortals
Sleep, to some so natural
Sleep, to many so elusive
Sleep, to some so simple
Sleep, to some a real struggle
Sleep, for some, bountiful to envy
Sleep, for some, commodity to buy
Sleep, in it some walk riskily
Sleep, in it some talk profusely
Sleep, a gift to all human beings
Sleep, a basic necessity of life
Sleep well, wake up refreshed,
Step on to face daily challenges.
Somnorase Păsărele
Mihai Eminescu
(Romanian)
Somnoroase
Pe la cuiburi se adună,
Se ascund în rămurele -
Noapte bună!
Doar izvoarele suspină,
Pe când codrul negru tace;
Dorm şi florile-n grădină -
Dormi în pace!
Trece lebăda pe ape
Între trestii să se culce -
Fie-ţi îngerii aproape,
Somnul dulce!
Peste-a nopţii feerie
Se ridică mândra lună,
Totu-i vis şi armonie -
Noapte bună!
Sleepy Birds
Mihai Eminescu
(Romanian)
All those sleepy birds
Now tired from flight
Hide among the leaves
Good-night!
Only the spring whispers
When the wood sleeps silently;
Even flowers in the gardens
Sleep peacefully!
Swans glide to their nest
Sheltering among the reeds
May angels guard your rest,
Sweet dreams!
Above a night of sorcery
Comes the moon’s graceful light,
All is peace and harmony
Good-night!
« Back to Sleep and Poetry page |
