Review of City Of Sleep

The City of Sleep

by Rudyard Kipling

Rudyard Kipling

Over the edge of the purple down,

   Where the single lamplight gleams,

Know ye the road to the Merciful Town

   That is hard by the Sea of Dreams –

Where the poor may lay their wrongs away,

   And the sick may forget to weep?

But we – pity us! Oh, pity us!

   We wakeful; ah, pity us! –

We must go back with Policeman Day –

   Back from the City of Sleep!

 

Weary they turn from the scroll and crown,

   Fetter and prayer and plough –

They that go up to the Merciful Town,

   For her gates are closing now.

It is their right in the Baths of Night

   Body and soul to steep,

But we – pity us! ah, pity us!

   We wakeful; oh, pity us! –

We must go back with Policeman Day –

   Back from the City of Sleep!

 

Over the edge of the purple down,

   Ere the tender dreams begin,

Look – we may look – at the Merciful Town,

   But we may not enter in!

Outcasts all, from her guarded wall

   Back to our watch we creep:

We – pity us! ah, pity us!

   We wakeful; ah, pity us! –

We that go back with Policeman Day –

   Back from the City of Sleep!

 

 

 

 

 

 This poem is one of the poems i am using for my poetry out loud. I have been looking at this poem and i think i have discovered what it means. 

The poem goes in and talks about the acceptance of people in the so called city, which could represent children sleeping soundly with no problems. The second stanza talks about how they are slowly not being welcome to the place, which could mean people in the mid years (16-26). after that they are all in exile which could lead to older years when things become to over whelming like work, stress, thoughts. the things that bother people. but it also could mean death because you don't sleep when dead its just over. there is no breaks its done and gone.

The reason i chose this poem is because i enjoyed the rhyme scheme  that it portrayed and i enjoyed the idea i got from the poem.