Asleep! O sleep a little while, white pearl!

And let me kneel, and let me pray to thee,

And let me call Heaven’s blessing on thine eyes,

And let me breathe into the happy air,

That doth enfold and touch thee all about,

Vows of my slavery, my giving up,

My sudden adoration, my great love!

John Keats (born October 31, 1795, London, England—died February 23, 1821, Rome, Papal States [Italy]) English Romantic lyric poet who devoted his short life to the perfection of a poetry marked by vivid imagery, great sensuous appeal, and an attempt to express a philosophy through classical legend. He is best known for his odes, including "Ode to a Grecian Urn," "Ode to a Nightingale," and his long form poem Endymion. His usage of sensual imagery and statements such as “beauty is truth and truth is beauty” made him a precursor of aestheticism.

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Asleep! O sleep a little while, white pearl!

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