Seal Lullaby

“Wynken, Blynken, and Nod“ by Eugene Field (1889)

In Eugene Field’s children’s poem, three characters sail the sky in a wooden shoe. In the final verse, the characters become the tired child presumably listening to the poem, and the wooden shoe becomes the “trundle-bed” (Line 40) where he can rock to sleep. Like “Seal Lullaby,” a mother crafts the song, a vision of natural beauty that the poet describes alongside the promise of both adventure and safety.

“Lullaby“ by John Fuller (1996)

British poet John Fuller’s lullaby demonstrates the move from late Victorian to modern sensibility in a soothing song for children. The natural world continues to provide literal and metaphoric content, as the sheep’s bells lull the baby to sleep. The baby himself is “clean as a nut” (Lines 1 and 11), full of potential and promise. The sense of play reflects imagination, as the bat “like an umbrella turn[s] into a mouse” in line 6. No promise of safety comes from the parent; instead, the child provides its own consolation: “Oh be our rest, our hopeful start” (Line 9). As in previous lullabies, the baby goes on a sleep journey, but in Fuller’s lullaby, “We go too” (Line 4).