Thank you for visiting SNEWPapers!
Sign up free
Poem
January 1, 1884
Staunton Spectator
Staunton, Virginia
What is this article about?
A reflective poem about finding a sleeping baby girl amid broken toys, pondering how adults, weary from life's pains and joys, sleep similarly among broken dreams, ultimately resting in the Father's embrace.
Clipping
OCR Quality
75%
Good
Full Text
BROKEN TOYS.
I found my baby girl to-day
Asleep upon the floor.
The space around her little form
With playthings scattered o'er.
Her hands were nestled 'neath her chin,
And one still firmly held
A broken toy, whose novel charm
As yet was undispelled.
There lingered still about the mouth
And on the brow a trace
Of thought, half grieved and half perplexed,
As if the tiny face
Already had begun to learn
The look it was to wear
In years to come. I stooped to kiss
Away the mimic care,
And as I laid her, still asleep,
Within her nest-like bed,
And smoothed the cradle's pillow for
Her weary little head.
I thought how we of larger growth,
When tired of pains and joys,
With that same look fall fast asleep
Amid our broken toys!
And then the Father, stooping, takes
The tired head to His breast,
And smooths the furrows from the brow,
And bears us to our rest.
I found my baby girl to-day
Asleep upon the floor.
The space around her little form
With playthings scattered o'er.
Her hands were nestled 'neath her chin,
And one still firmly held
A broken toy, whose novel charm
As yet was undispelled.
There lingered still about the mouth
And on the brow a trace
Of thought, half grieved and half perplexed,
As if the tiny face
Already had begun to learn
The look it was to wear
In years to come. I stooped to kiss
Away the mimic care,
And as I laid her, still asleep,
Within her nest-like bed,
And smoothed the cradle's pillow for
Her weary little head.
I thought how we of larger growth,
When tired of pains and joys,
With that same look fall fast asleep
Amid our broken toys!
And then the Father, stooping, takes
The tired head to His breast,
And smooths the furrows from the brow,
And bears us to our rest.
What sub-type of article is it?
Elegy
What themes does it cover?
Death Mourning
Religious Faith
Moral Virtue
What keywords are associated?
Broken Toys
Sleeping Child
Life Pains
Divine Rest
Childhood Innocence
Adult Weariness
Poem Details
Title
Broken Toys.
Form / Style
Rhymed Quatrains
Key Lines
I Thought How We Of Larger Growth,
When Tired Of Pains And Joys,
With That Same Look Fall Fast Asleep
Amid Our Broken Toys!
And Then The Father, Stooping, Takes
The Tired Head To His Breast.
And Smooths The Furrows From The Brow,
And Bears Us To Our Rest.