Eugene Field · 1888
Little Boy Blue
Eugene Field · 1888
The little toy dog is covered with dust, But sturdy and staunch he stands; And the little toy soldier is red with rust, And his musket moulds in his hands. Time was when the little toy dog was new, And the soldier was passing fair; And that was the time when our Little Boy Blue Kissed them and put them there. "Now, don't you go till I come," he said, "And don't you make any noise!" So, toddling off to his trundle-bed, He dreamt of the pretty toys; And, as he was dreaming, an angel song Awakened our Little Boy Blue-- Oh! the years are many, the years are long, But the little toy friends are true! Aye, faithful to Little Boy Blue they stand, Each in the same old place-- Awaiting the touch of a little hand, The smile of a little face; And they wonder, as waiting the long years through In the dust of that little chair, What has become of our Little Boy Blue, Since he kissed them and put them there.
Public domain in the UK and the US · serany.app
What Serany thinks about this poem
Background
Field wrote it in 1888, when he was a Chicago newspaperman. It became one of the best-known poems in America and was learned by heart in schools for fifty years.
Meaning
A little boy puts his toys down, tells them to wait for him, and goes to bed. He never comes back, and the toys are still there waiting, covered in dust.
Who's it for
A small child, and a family who need the loss said simply rather than explained away. It is right where the toys are still in the house.
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