quote · Legacy record
When He returns, and finds the World so drear— All sleeping,—young and old, unfair and fair, Will He stoop down and whisper in each ear, “Awaken!” or for pity’s sake forbear,— Saying, “How shall I meet their frozen stare Of wonder, and their eyes so full of fear? How shall I comfort them in their despair, If they cry out, ‘Too late! let us sleep here’?” Perchance He will not wake us up, but when He sees us look so happy in our rest, Will murmur, “Poor dead women and dead men! Dire was their doom, and weary was their quest. Wherefore awake them into life again? Let them sleep on untroubled—it is best.”
When He returns, and finds the World so drear— All sleeping,—young and old, unfair and fair, Will He stoop down and whisper in each ear, “Awaken!” or for pity’s sake forbear,— Saying, “How shall I meet their frozen stare Of wonder, and their eyes so full of fear? How shall I comfort them in their despair, If they cry out, ‘Too late! let us sleep here’?” Perchance He will not wake us up, but when He sees us look so happy in our rest, Will murmur, “Poor dead women and dead men! Dire was their doom, and weary was their quest. Wherefore awake them into life again? Let them sleep on untroubled—it is best.”
In print by 1921 AD · modern
Recorded in a printed collection by this date; the original date of these words is still unknown.
Meaning not yet available
An individual explanation has not yet been added. We do not substitute a generic description for an interpretation of these particular words.
Begin with source-checked readings and explanations ↗Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- R. Buchanan (identity unresolved)
Attribution: unknown - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- In print by 1921 AD · modern
In print by 1921: recorded in My Commonplace Book (third English edition,1921). Collection publication is an upper bound for this wording, not its earliest origin, composition date or the author's lifetime.
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- My Commonplace Book (third English edition,1921) (1921 AD)
Page 215 · printed citation: R. Buchanan. · compiler notes excluded
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.