This has been one of my favorite poems ever since I first heard it many many years ago. Maybe because it’s almost unbearably sentimental, and it makes one wonder what happened to Little Boy Blue:
Sphere: Related ContentLittle Boy Blue
The little toy dog is covered with dust,
But sturdy and stanch 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 his 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!Ay, 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 these 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.~Eugene Field, 1850-1895~
March 24th, 2008 at 7:35 am
You may have learned by now that the boy described in Eugene Field’s beloved poem Little Boy Blue was his own son, who died when he was a little boy. Field had eight children. Two died when infants, and the other as a boy. My mother loved this poem, and I do as well, although I have 2 little boys of my own now, I find it heartwrenching to read.
TMS: No, I didn’t know the story behind the poem. Thanks so much for sharing it. That makes it even more sad.