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Sicilian Lullaby by Eugene Field

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A parent or caregiver gently sings a bedtime song to a little one, encouraging them to hush, dream, and sleep—always inviting them to return.

Poet
Eugene Field
Core theme
Faith
The PoemFull text

Sicilian Lullaby

Eugene Field

Hush, little one, and fold your hands; The sun hath set, the moon is high; The sea is singing to the sands, And wakeful posies are beguiled By many a fairy lullaby: Hush, little child, my little child! Dream, little one, and in your dreams Float upward from this lowly place,-- Float out on mellow, misty streams To lands where bideth Mary mild, And let her kiss thy little face, You little child, my little child! Sleep, little one, and take thy rest, With angels bending over thee,-- Sleep sweetly on that Father's breast Whom our dear Christ hath reconciled; But stay not there,--come back to me, O little child, my little child!

Public domain

Sourced from Project Gutenberg

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§01Quick summary

What this poem is about

A parent or caregiver gently sings a bedtime song to a little one, encouraging them to hush, dream, and sleep—always inviting them to return. Each verse guides the child through the different stages of night: calming down, drifting into dreams, and finally resting under God's watchful care, ending with a heartfelt request not to stay away for too long.

§02Themes

Recurring themes

§03Line by line

Stanza by stanza, with notes

  1. Hush, little one, and fold your hands; / The sun hath set, the moon is high;

    Editor's note

    The opening stanza paints a picture of nightfall. The speaker gently advises the child to be still and fold their hands — a gesture that signifies both prayer and rest. Nature participates in this moment: the sea serenades the sand, and even the flowers ("wakeful posies") are being gently lulled to sleep by fairy songs. The entire world is settling down along with the child.

  2. Dream, little one, and in your dreams / Float upward from this lowly place,--

    Editor's note

    Now the speaker invites the child into dreams. The image of floating "upward" on "mellow, misty streams" gives sleep a gentle, almost weightless quality. The destination is a place where the Virgin Mary is ready to kiss the child's face — a profoundly Catholic image of divine tenderness. Here, sleep transforms into a kind of blessed journey, not merely unconsciousness.

  3. Sleep, little one, and take thy rest, / With angels bending over thee,--

    Editor's note

    The final stanza captures the poem's emotional core. The child is entrusted to God's care — specifically on the "Father's breast" that Christ makes accessible. Yet, the speaker shifts with a heartfelt, human request: *come back to me*. After two stanzas of surrendering the child to heaven, the parent struggles to let go. That last line — "O little child, my little child!" — embodies the love and quiet anxiety of a parent observing a sleeping child.

§04Tone & mood

How this poem feels

Tender and loving, yet tinged with a subtle anxiety underneath. The poem seems serene at first — with soft rhythms and gentle imagery — but the final stanza exposes a parent's true fear of losing their child, even to heaven. It's a lullaby that cares deeply, making it hard to feel completely at ease.

§05Symbols & metaphors

Symbols & metaphors

Folded hands
Both a sign of sleep and of prayer. The child is getting ready for rest and for a connection with the divine at the same time.
Misty streams
The dreaming mind floats between the waking world and something beyond it. The mist blurs the boundary, making it feel gentle and safe instead of scary.
Mary mild
The Virgin Mary embodies the ideal gentle caregiver — a celestial reflection of the earthly parent who sings a soothing lullaby. Her kiss on the child's face resonates with the love the parent wishes to share.
Father's breast
God is like a resting place, made accessible through Christ. It evokes a sense of complete safety—yet the speaker tells the child not to linger there, which speaks volumes about the nature of parental love.
Angels bending over
Heavenly watchers who take the place of a parent during sleep. They also bear a subtle hint of mortality — angels are present at both cradles and deathbeds.

§06Form & structure

Form & structure

Meter
iambic tetrameter
Rhyme
ABABCC ABABCC ABABCC

§07Historical context

Historical context

Eugene Field wrote this poem in the late 19th century, a time when many American families faced the reality of child mortality. Known as the "poet of childhood," Field experienced the loss of his own children and often reflected on the delicate, invaluable nature of young life. The poem incorporates Catholic imagery — including the Virgin Mary, the Father's breast, and Christ's reconciliation — which resonated with American readers of various denominations at the time. Lullabies have a long-standing tradition of intertwining parental grief with comfort, and Field follows that tradition closely. The Sicilian setting suggested in the title is more about creating an atmosphere than providing specific details, conjuring a warm Mediterranean world filled with sea, moonlight, and deep religious devotion — a dreamlike backdrop for a poem that ultimately explores the universal fear of loving something so small and fragile.

§08FAQ

Questions readers ask

What does the title 'Sicilian Lullaby' mean? Is the poem actually set in Sicily?

Not in any literal sense. Sicily acts as a mood—sun-warmed, Catholic, ancient, and a bit surreal. Field uses it to set the poem apart from everyday American life, giving it a timeless, folk-song feel. The actual setting is just a child's bedside at night.

Who is speaking in the poem?

A parent, likely a mother due to the norms of the time, sings to a young child. The phrase "my little child" is repeated, highlighting the personal connection as the emotional heart of the poem.

Why does the speaker say 'but stay not there — come back to me' in the last stanza?

This emotional twist elevates the poem beyond just a lullaby. After two stanzas of guiding the child toward heaven — mentioning Mary, God, and angels — the speaker abruptly asks the child to come back. It captures the anxiety any parent experiences while watching a sleeping child: a nagging realization that sleep and death can appear similar, and that love won’t easily relent, even to God.

Is this poem about a child who has died?

The poem reads like a lullaby for a living child, but Field experienced the loss of several children, leading her to write numerous poems that explore that grief. The anxiety in the final stanza — a heartfelt plea for the child to return — reflects the heavy awareness that loss can happen. Readers have long debated whether the child is living or if the poem serves as a hidden elegy.

What is the rhyme scheme and does it matter?

Each stanza adheres to an ABABCB pattern, with the last line consistently concluding with "my little child" as a refrain. This recurring line plays a significant role: it continually brings the poem back to the close, personal bond between the speaker and the child, regardless of how far the imagery may stretch toward the heavens.

What does 'whom our dear Christ hath reconciled' mean?

It's a reference to the Christian concept of atonement — that Christ's death repaired the bond between humanity and God, allowing us to find peace in God's presence. Field suggests that the child can sleep soundly on God's chest because Christ opened the door to that intimacy for us.

What are 'wakeful posies' and why are they in a lullaby?

Posies are small flowers. Referring to them as "wakeful" adds a gentle touch of personification — these flowers remain open into the evening. The notion is that even they are being lulled to sleep by fairy lullabies, suggesting that the entire natural world is winding down along with the child. This creates a sense of universality and safety around the child's bedtime.

How does this poem compare to Field's more famous poem 'Wynken, Blynken, and Nod'?

Both poems explore dreaming and the night sea as a passage into a magical, safe haven. However, 'Wynken, Blynken, and Nod' is playful and concludes on a joyful note, while 'Sicilian Lullaby' carries a darker undertone — its religious imagery and the final plea add a depth that the other poem intentionally sidesteps. Together, they reflect Field's dual emotions about childhood: wonder and dread existing side by side.

Citation

Cite this poem

MLA

Field, Eugene. "Sicilian Lullaby." Storgy, https://storgy.com/poems/sicilian-lullaby-eugene-field/.

APA

Field, E. (n.d.). Sicilian lullaby. Storgy. https://storgy.com/poems/sicilian-lullaby-eugene-field/

TeacherAP Lit Q1 scaffold — preview

Row A — Thesis

1 pt

In 'Sicilian Lullaby,' Eugene Field employs the incremental structure of the lullaby form as a means of expressing grief, revealing through each successive command — hush, dream, sleep — a speaker whose gentle requests to a child gradually …

  • Row B — Evidence + Commentary4 pts
  • Row C — Sophistication1 pt
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