Only in Sleep is a poem by American author Sara Teasdale. It’s about a lady remembering her childhood friends in her dreams.
MP3 Recording of Only in Sleep
Only in Sleep
Only in sleep I see their faces,
Children I played with when I was a child,
Louise comes back with her brown hair braided,
Annie with ringlets warm and wild.
Only in sleep Time is forgotten —
What may have come to them, who can know?
Yet we played last night as long ago,
And the doll-house stood at the turn of the stair.
The years had not sharpened their smooth round faces,
I met their eyes and found them mild —
Do they, too, dream of me, I wonder,
And for them am I too a child?
Read by Diana Majlinger
Image from “The Girl’s Own Book” (1856) by Lydia Maria Child
This article was posted on Tuesday, July 3rd, 2012 at 2:45 pm and is filed under Countries & Cultures, English, Languages, MP3's of Poems, Poems about Childhood, Poetry, Poets, Recordings, Recordings of Poems, Sara Teasdale, USA. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
6 Responses to “Only in Sleep–A Poem by Sara Teasdale”
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July 21st, 2017 at 4:53 am
Dear Sara,
thank you for the beautiful lyrics. It touched me inside. I heared it singing from a choir on YouTube and I wanted to know what they are really singing…so I found your page.
Best regards
Knut
November 19th, 2017 at 12:16 am
This poem was put to music and performed by the Trinity College Choir, in an absolutely gorgeous rendition:
https://www.facebook.com/soulseekers.worldwide/videos/1889369781379308/?comment_id=10212621536365086&reply_comment_id=10212621617967126¬if_id=1511049691585223¬if_t=feed_comment_reply
November 25th, 2017 at 8:45 pm
The collaboration of Sara Teasdale (the poem) and Eriks Esenvalds (choral setting) across time and space (as they lived in different times) is one of the most beautiful songs ever created. See the link in the comment above.
April 12th, 2018 at 9:00 pm
‘Only in Sleep’ is one of the most beautiful, poignant songs I’ve heard in over 70 years. Rachel Ambrose Evans’ rendition is truly heart-breakingly inspired. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve listened to it, and I’ll listen again and again. I’ve also sent a copy to many friends—a wonderful way to spam them. 😉
April 12th, 2018 at 10:33 pm
Is this the rendition you mean Ian?
November 8th, 2022 at 4:35 pm
I’ve always enjoyed Sara Teasdale’s poetry. Esenvalds has raised the poignancy and meaning of this poem to an even deeper understanding. Thank you for uploading this work. Please go to my website. You will find that I am a musician and poet and writer.
Sincerely,
Diane Stevenson Schmolka.