[290] Bed in Summer

In winter I get up at night
And dress by yellow candle-light.
In summer quite the other way,
I have to go to bed by day.

I have to go to bed and see
The birds still hopping on the tree,
Or hear the grown-up people's feet
Still going past me in the street.

And does it not seem hard to you,
When all the sky is clear and blue,
And I should like so much to play,
To have to go to bed by day?

	-- R. L. Stevenson

A touch of nostalgia today - this poem charmed and enchanted me when I was a
child, with its hints of faraway lands and strange conditions. A funny
thing, though, was that while I could quote the first two verses from
memory, the very existence of the third came as a surprise to me. Nor was it
a pleasant surprise - while verses one and two have a delightful air of
bemusement, the last verse is, to put it quite frankly, whiny. It's
especially sad since the second verse would have been a fine (if somewhat
abrupt) ending, and left the whole a good (if not great) children's poem.

On the other hand, it is still a pretty nice poem, if a very 'children's'
one - the images manage to be quite evocative without being descriptive, and
the rhythms are satisfyingly strong and regular (something that matters a
lot when  you're a child - take a glance through any ten popular nursery
rhymes). I think Stevenson's fault at the end was an attempt to identify
with his audience; one that, quite sadly, misfired.

m.

Notes: From 'A Child's Garden of Verses', the first poem in the book, in
fact.

For a far better poem from the same source, see 'From a Railway Carriage'
poem #84

And  for the complete 'A Child's Garden of Verses', a set of XLI poems
ranging from the amazingly painful to the truly delightful, see
http://geocities.com/~spanoudi/poems/rls02.html#1

From: Chris Moller <moller@>

Your critique's a bit presumptuous, don't you think?

cm

-- 
Christian H. L. Moller
Moller Software Development Services, LLC
moller@
	www.mollerware.com
919-367-8689 (voice)
	919-367-9097 (fax)

From: Martin DeMello <martindemello@>

--- Chris Moller <moller@> wrote:
> Your critique's a bit presumptuous, don't you think?

I take it you're referring to the bit where I called the third verse 'whiny'? A
little, perhaps, but I stand by it - there does seem to me to be a distinct
change of tone after the first two verses, and not for the better.

I do usually try to tone down negative criticism, but in this case I was
disappointed by having a fond childhood memory diminished.

martin

From: "EMILY BRAME" <EBRAM633@>

I love this poem - reading it over gives me lovely memories of Mum
dressing me in pale yellow seersucker pjs and reading it to me to help
take away the disappointment of day's end and the wretched necessity of
having to go to bed.  I identified very much with the words of third verse
back then.  They express my sentiments exactly.

From: "Lisa Hargreaves" <lisa@>

The poem is a wonderfully descriptive and emotive window on the world
through a childs eyes. Any child would rather be able to go out an play
than be stuck indoors on a summer's day. A simple frustration we all
must feel today, even as grown-ups.

I love this poem I have purchased a copy from 1898.

Lisa

Ps. Do not publish my e-mail address. Thank you

From: "Louise Tamboer" <lenlou@>

I am 75 yrs. old and remembered this poem, word for word, since I was
11.  My voice was recorded reciting it on my birthday at my friend's
house.  I will always remember it.
Louise Tamboer