Dutch lullaby



Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night
 Sailed off in a wooden shoe,--
Sailed on a river of misty light
 Into a sea of dew.
"Where are you going, and what do you wish?"
 The old moon asked the three.
"We have come to fish for the herring-fish
 That live in this beautiful sea;
 Nets of silver and gold have we,"
   Said Wynken,
   Blynken,
   And Nod.

The old moon laughed and sung a song,
 As they rocked in the wooden shoe;
And the wind that sped them all night long
 Ruffled the waves of dew;
The little stars were the herring-fish
 That lived in the beautiful sea.
"Now cast your nets wherever you wish,
 But never afeard are we!"
 So cried the stars to the fishermen three,
       Wynken,
       Blynken,
       And Nod.

All night long their nets they threw
 For the fish in the twinkling foam,
Then down from the sky came the wooden shoe,
 Bringing the fishermen home;
'T was all so pretty a sail, it seemed
 As if it could not be;
And some folk thought 't was a dream they'd dreamed
 Of sailing that beautiful sea;
 But I shall name you the fishermen three:
       Wynken,
       Blynken,
       And Nod.

Wynken and Blynken are two little eyes,
 And Nod is a little head,
And the wooden shoe that sailed the skies
 Is a wee one's trundle-bed;
So shut your eyes while Mother sings
 Of wonderful sights that be,
And you shall see the beautiful things
 As you rock on the misty sea
 Where the old shoe rocked the fishermen three,--
       Wynken,
       Blynken,
       And Nod.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 17, 2023

1:20 min read
147

Quick analysis:

Scheme ababcdcddeEF gbgbcdcddEEF bhbhididdEEF jkjkldlddEEF
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 1,439
Words 270
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 12, 12, 12, 12

Eugene Field

 · 1850 ·  Saint Louis

Eugene Field, Sr. was an American writer, best known for his children's poetry and humorous essays. more…

All Eugene Field poems | Eugene Field Books

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    "Dutch lullaby" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 20 Dec. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/12938/dutch-lullaby>.

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    The repetition of similar sounds at the ends of words or within words is known as _______.
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