Reading 30: Ch 51 – Sleeping Beauty, Epilogue – Dreamland

The Sleepers begins with a poem about John and the meaning of his name. Chapter 51, the last chapter, begins with a poem about Sleeping Beauty, the metaphor for America Asleep. I’ve copied the poem here for you to read. Thank you for listening to the complete version of The Sleepers. Please leave a review on Amazon and share the links with your friends.

Sleeping Beauty adorned the dais,
Doll-like and dainty.
A monument to men and madness.

Preciously placed by imperfect people,
Unnaturally perfected.
As stone rests on stone,
No bosom or breath heaves.
She, symbolic sufferer of our sin.

Cleverly concealed and clearly seen,
The public panacea, pristine and impregnable,
Eternal evader of capricious men,
She wants and waits for no one.

I found her fickle and firm.
I sought the sumptuous satisfaction,
Of kissing the sweet, sonorous Sleeping Beauty.
To find freedom in flesh and wake a nation.

But cold and clenched lips returned my gift.
Detached and distracted, she decidedly declined.
Sleeping Beauty awoke only to reject resurrection.
Wresting from my arms, she rests again,
Content with the quiet complacency sleep bequeaths.