Asleep in The Valley
- by Arthur Rimbaud
A small valley where a slow stream flows
And leaves long strands of silver on the bright
Grass; From the mountaintop streams the sun's
Rays; they fill the hollow full of light.
A soldier lies, very young, lies open-mouthed,
A pillow made of fern beneath his head,
Asleep; stretched in the heavy undergrowth,
Pale in his warm, green, sun-soaked bed.
His feet among the flowers, he sleeps.His smile
Is like an infant's - gentle, without guile.
Ah, nature keep him warm ; he may catch cold.
The humming insects don't disturb his rest
He sleeps in sunlight, one hand on his breast;
At peace. In his side there are two red holes.
Summary, poem analysis and analysis
A slow stream flows through a small green valley making the grass on its bank appear like long silvery strands. The sun lights pours down from the mountain top and illuminates the entire valley.
There lies a very young soldier. His head rested on the pillow made of fern. the thick undergrowth in the field serves as his bed upon which he sleeps, stretching his body.
The feet of the soldier are covered with flowers. There is a gentle and innocent smile on his face like that of infant. The poet appeals to nature to keep him warm, so that he does not catch cold. He asks the insects not to disturb the soldier as he sleeps peacefully in the lap of nature. It is here that the poem takes a sudden and shocking turn as it reveals the two red holes in one side of the soldier's body. His sleep suddenly on the gravity of an obvious expression of death, which is as unbecoming amidst the splendour of nature as the war against the backdrop of civilization. The reader cannot help feeling a helpless pity for the dead soldier, who, in that picturesque setting epitomizes the futility and ugliness of war.
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