THE GARDEN OF SLEEP
By Clement Scott

ON THE GRASS of the cliff, at the edge of the steep,
God planted a garden — a garden of sleep!
’Neath the blue of the sky, in the green of the corn,
It is there that the regal red poppies are born!
Brief days of desire, and long dreams of delight,
They are mine when my Poppy-Land cometh in sight.
In music of distance, with eyes that are wet,
It is there I remember, and there I forget!
O! heart of my heart! where the poppies are born,
I am waiting for thee, in the hush of the corn.
Sleep! Sleep!
From the Cliff to the Deep!
Sleep, my Poppy-Land,
Sleep !

In my garden of sleep, where red poppies are spread,
I wait for the living, alone with the dead!
For a tower in ruins stands guard o’er the deep,
At whose feet are green graves of dear women asleep!
Did they love as I love, when they lived by the sea?
Did they wait as I wait, for the days that may be?
Was it hope or fulfilling that entered each breast,
Ere death gave release, and the poppies gave rest?
O! life of my life! on the cliffs by the sea,
By the graves in the grass, I am waiting for thee!
Sleep! Sleep!
In the Dews by the Deep!
Sleep, my Poppy-Land, Sleep!

All colour illustrations are from Jarrolds’ Poppyland Series by Parsons Norman. Printed in England.

In 1894 and onwards it was published by Jarrold & Sons.

Republished in 1992 by Christine Stockwell.

ISBN 0 9516640 1 8

ISBN 0 9516640 2 6

152 pages, 30 black and white illustrations by F H Townsend

For a DVD about Poppy Land, please visit Poppyland Publishing