Double-Dip Sleep
I’ve heard it often said,
That mediaeval folks would fall asleep
As soon as the Sun went down.
And then they’d rise from bed,
At twelve or one, as the night lay deep,
From the peasants to the Crown.
And they’d spend an hour or two
Quite wide awake, before the lark,
With the fires and the candles out.
And they’d sit with naught to do,
Except to shiver in the dark,
And pray for drowsiness, no doubt.
Rhyming Couplets 