Summons Poem by Robert Francis
Summons
Keep me from going to sleep too soon
Or if I go to sleep too soon
Come wake me up. Come any hour
Of night. Come whistling up the road.
Stomp on the porch. Bang on the door.
Make me get out of bed and come
And let you in and light a light.
Tell me the northern lights are on
And make me look. Or tell me clouds
Are doing something to the moon
They never did before, and show me.
See that I see. Talk to me till
I'm half as wide awake as you
And start to dress wondering why
I ever went to bed at all.
Tell me the walking is superb.
Not only tell me but persuade me.
You know I'm not too hard persuaded.
At Missouri Fine Arts Academy, we tried to analyze this poem. To me, it should be read in an almost mystical way with a soft voice. Though it sounds like death, I personally think it is about inspiration. The sleeping person is ignoring creativity and the beauty of life, yet wants to experience it. That is why the narrator is asking 'Persuade me'. This is shown throughout the poem by the things the narrator wants to see such as the beautiful aurora borealis. They tell them to 'Knock on the porch. Bang on the door' meaning to force them to listen even if they have to shout, 'Look! Look at all of the wonder you are missing! ' They want to see these things before they become a prisoner of their own negativity which is proven in the line 'Keep me from going to sleep too soon.' Of course, this is just my opinion. At the age of 17 now, it could change when I'm 20 or 30.
Magificently responded, dear Kiarra, you were 17, now you are 32, but I think your opinion about this poem is still the same, since my opinion is like that too and I am much much older than you. Thank you!
I revisit this poem since the poem is chosen again as The Modern Poem Of The Day. Good work, dear Poet
Is it for lazy people to wake up early for walking as exercise, in the health point of view?
The three last lines: Tell me the walking is superb. Not only tell me but persuade me. You know I'm not too hard persuaded. So truest
A spontaneous poem about living life and wishing to deal with the present, just wake me up!
That is why the narrator is asking 'Persuade me'. This is shown throughout the poem by the things the narrator wants to see such as the beautiful aurora borrealis
The poet feels that he is falling in the trap of laziness and wants others to give him a , so that he would cut off lethargy and get inspired.
The poet celebrates innocence, love, and the persuasive force that can shape our lives. The poem's charm lies in its straightforwardness and the universal longing for connection and awakening.5 Stars. Most deserving as the Modern Poem Of The Day. Congratulations!
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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4/21/2025 2:33:39 AM # 1.0.0
I think it is about those people that enter our lives and open the doors. The people who we never expect to come along. We don't plan for the meeting, it is the spontaneous nature of time and chance that puts these people in our lives that they change us, a sea change into something rich and strange.