[Editor: This poem by William Blocksidge (also known as William Baylebridge) was published in Songs o’ the South (1908).]
Cradle Song
O sleep , my babe, while shadows steal
The brightness from thy locks of gold!
O sleep, my babe, for angels kneel,
Thine eyes in ivory lids to fold!
Whence came those tears thy cheek upon,
Like dewdrops on a blushing rose?
God calm thy fears, for soon are gone
The days of childhood’s sweet repose!
O sleep, my babe, while shadows steal
The brightness from thy locks of gold!
O sleep, my babe, for angels kneel,
Thine eyes in ivory lids to fold!
Source:
William Blocksidge, Songs o’ the South, London: Watts, 1908, p. 11
Editor’s notes:
ivory = white (derived from the ivory tusks of elephants, which are white in appearance, especially when cleaned and polished)
lock = a lock of hair; a small group or tuft of hairs (such as a curl, ringlet, or tress of hair); a small bunch of hair from someone’s head which has been cut off, usually being tied or bound together, and retained as a keepsake or memento; locks (plural) can refer to all of the hair on top of someone’s head
thine = (archaic) your; yours
thy = (archaic) your
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