Oh, the pains to come awake;
to part from the fancies of dreams,
and the pleasures of rest;
only to climb out of evening’s darkness.
Oh, the burn of the sun and its rays,
Only first light, so dim compared to midday,
yet still too bright for tired eyes,
How I wish to stay and not look into the sky.
The wakers claim the day,
they speak of the purpose of their toil,
but I don’t want to trade all of my comfort,
only to suffer the joys of a waker’s light.
Don’t they know the satisfaction of a dream?
To control one’s destiny into folly or flight,
And escape with a wondrous thrill?
And to rest in the shadows of the night.
Even if I were to climb the slopes,
and agree to lay aside my rest,
Oh, the great pains I would endure;
The sacrifice I would have to make!
Yes, the light asks so very much,
to come and concede to the daybreak,
and give up all my fancies here,
and to come awake, Oh, and to come awake.
Alas – the sun – it is rising!
The brightness, it pierces me to the heart!
How quickly do my dreams break under the weight,
In a daylight so devoid of the shadows of night.
I catch my breath, as if to breathe for the very first time;
My eyes are alight with the colors of the dawn,
And oh, I come awake! Oh, to be awake!
And have not slept the day away.
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by Megan Watson
