Sleep...! Poem by Vidya Pandarinath

Sleep is perhaps Nature's best boon -
The sure remedy for many a malady,
The night may come in any phase of the moon
Yet might fail to recoup the mind and the body


No rich furnish nor softest bed can assure
The coveted, averring and craved repose;
Stupor does, the fortunate one's, easily allure;
The wretched are left with nothing to choose


Crime, sin, folly and the hid penchant wish,
Rob away all the soothing real pleasure
From the eyes and the mind to the finish,
Leaving the course, void of any easy measure


Those who claim to command riches and all,
Slavishly turn destitute with their amok eyes;
A tramp enjoys a better slumber on a stall,
While the complete ones fall short of the price


Hypnos, Somnus, or Bacchus ease at will
And do stir and strain only the denied lot;
An infant's facile nap with the honeyed fill,
Or the serene, duly deserved rest be sought


Just enough to recoup and charge the soul,
Not porting beyond the stars that twinkle;
Nor slothful drag that splits away the whole;
Who would wish to sleep like Rip Wan Winkle..?