Little Boy Blue

The little toy dog is covered with dust

But sturdy and staunch he stands;

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;

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 while he was dreaming, an angel’s 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 their same old place,

Awaiting the touch of a little hand,

And 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.

Eugene Field. 1850 - 1895

My favorite poem?  This it be!

For the lesson that it taught to me

Though I was just a wee-small child

I learned of poems as grandpa smiled

And that love lasts for eternity

No matter dead or live we be

For those moments that we share in life

Stay in our hearts through joy and strife

So though my grandpa’s life did end

He stands beside me, thick and thin

He waits for me like that soldier brave

“Til the day they rest me in my grave

And once again I’ll hear this poem

In his voice as he calls me safely home

Sherry Gail Heim

June 22, 2004

Copyright © Sherry Gail Heim 2004