Sleep my Treasure
Sleep, sleep, my treasure,
The long day’s pleasure
Has tired the birds, to their nests they creep;
The garden still is
Alight with lilies,
But all the daisies are fast asleep.
Sleep, sleep, my darling,
Dawn wakes the starling,
The sparrow stirs when he sees day break;
But all the meadow
Is wrapped in shadow,
And you must sleep till the daisies wake!
– E. Nesbit
Summary
The poet E.Nesbit refers to the baby as a mother’s treasure whom she is putting to sleep. She is telling her baby that the birds are tired and in they have crept into their nests, the garden is alight with lilies but all the daisies are asleep. She further tells her baby that dawn wakes up the starlings and the sparrow starts moving, early in the morning. But the meadow is still covered in darkness so the mother tells her baby to sleep till the daisies wake up.
Meanings
treasure – (here) the little child.
pleasure – happiness
creep – to move slowly and quietly.
alight with – lit up with.
starling – a bird with dark, shiny feathers and a loud call.
stirs – moves slightly.
meadow – grassland.
wrapped – covered.
Pointers:
1. Answer the following questions:
1. Who is the speaker in the poem?
Ans. The mother is the speaker in the poem.
2. To whom is the poem addressed?
Ans. The poem is addressed to the baby.
3. What time is being described in the poem?
Ans. The time described in the 1st stanza is dusk and in the 2nd stanza it is dawn.
4. Name the white and bright things mentioned in the poem.
Ans. The white things mentioned in the poem are the lilies and daisies. And the bright things mentioned in the poem are garden dawn and daybreak.
2. Guess the meaning of the following from the context:
(a) The garden still is alight with lilies.
Ans. The white lilies make the garden appear to be bright and well lit.
(b) Dawn wakes the starling.
Ans. When the sun rises and it is dawn, the starling wakes up.
(c) The meadow is wrapped in shadow:
Ans. The meadow is covered with darkness.
3. What is your favourite time of the day? Describe it in detail.
My favorite time of the day is morning. In the morning it is bright and sunny. I also feel energetic in the morning after a good night’s rest. If I wake up early in the morning I can do a lot of my work and then have time for my hobbies and play.
4. Visit a library: Find and read stories and poems written by Edith Nesbit.
The Fields of Flanders
Last year
the fields were all glad and gay
With silver daisies and silver may;
There were kingcups gold by the river’s edge
And primrose stars under every hedge.
This year the fields are trampled and brown,
The hedges are broken and beaten down,
And where the primroses used to grow
Are little black crosses set in a row.
And the flower of hopes, and the flowers of dreams,
The noble, fruitful, beautiful schemes,
The tree of life with its fruit and bud,
Are trampled down in the mud and the blood.
The changing seasons will bring again
The magic of Spring to our wood and plain;
Though the Spring be so green as never was seen
The crosses will still be black in the green.
The God of battles shall judge the foe
Who trampled our country and laid her low. . . .
God! hold our hands on the reckoning day,
Lest all we owe them we should repay
5. Draw word webs for the following. Begin with the given word and go on writing as many other words associated with it, as you can. Use these words to write other related words to form a word web.
Mujhe meanings chahiye