What does "some time you shall know" mean?

It means: one day, when you’ve grown up and I’m no longer here, you will truly see how deeply I loved you. The speaker understands that the child is too young to fully appreciate a parent's love at this moment, but believes that experiencing grief — standing at a parent's grave — will bring that understanding to light.

Why does the refrain change from "shall" to "may" in the second stanza?

It’s a moment of honesty. The speaker knows he loves the child, but he can't be entirely sure that even death will help the child understand. "May" captures that uncertainty. The shift back to "shall" in the final stanza reflects a choice to believe in it regardless.

Is this poem about the child dying or the parent dying?

The parent is dying. In the second stanza, the speaker envisions their own future funeral — the "calm face" in the "darkened place" belongs to them. The child is pictured as an adult, standing over the parent's body.

What is the poem's rhyme scheme and meter?

Each stanza uses an ABAB rhyme scheme and alternates between iambic tetrameter and iambic trimeter — the same structure found in classic ballads and hymns. This song-like rhythm contributes to the poem's simplicity and emotional clarity.

Why does Field mention that he is crying while writing?

It brings the poem closer to real life. He isn’t just talking about an emotion — he’s giving the child (as a future reader) tangible proof of it. The tears are part of the message.

Is this poem autobiographical?

Almost certainly, yes. Field had several young children when he wrote it, and he passed away at 45, so his children were still young at the time of his death. Regardless of whether he anticipated his early death, the poem expresses a genuine parent's deep fear of being loved too late.

What makes this poem different from other sentimental Victorian poems about children?

Most Victorian poems about children highlight either the child's innocence or the fear of losing them. This poem takes a different approach — the parent envisions his own death and asks the child to remember *him*. It's less about safeguarding childhood and more about the unreciprocated aspect of parental love.

The Annotated Edition

SOME TIME by Eugene Field

Summary, meaning, line-by-line analysis & FAQ.

Read aloud in ~2 minOpen reading mode →

A father gazes at his sleeping child, filled with a love so profound that he knows the child won't fully comprehend it yet.

Poet: Eugene Field
Themes: family, love, memory

The PoemFull text

SOME TIME

Eugene Field

Last night, my darling, as you slept, I thought I heard you sigh, And to your little crib I crept, And watched a space thereby; And then I stooped and kissed your brow, For oh! I love you so-- You are too young to know it now, But some time you shall know! Some time when, in a darkened place Where others come to weep, Your eyes shall look upon a face Calm in eternal sleep, The voiceless lips, the wrinkled brow, The patient smile shall show-- You are too young to know it now, But some time you may know! Look backward, then, into the years, And see me here to-night-- See, O my darling! how my tears Are falling as I write; And feel once more upon your brow The kiss of long ago-- You are too young to know it now, But some time you shall know. End of Project Gutenberg's A Little Book of Western Verse, by Eugene Field

§01Quick summary

What this poem is about

A father gazes at his sleeping child, filled with a love so profound that he knows the child won't fully comprehend it yet. He envisions the moment when the child will stand by his grave, finally realizing just how deeply he was loved. This poem serves as a message that transcends time, from a living parent to a future adult who will one day mourn.

§02Themes

Recurring themes

§03Line by line

Stanza by stanza, with notes

Last night, my darling, as you slept, / I thought I heard you sigh,
Editor's note
The poem begins with a soft, personal moment: the speaker hears a faint sound coming from the child's crib and goes to see what's happening. That little sigh is enough to wake a parent from their own sleep. The scene feels completely ordinary, and that's exactly the point — the love here resides in the simple, everyday act of watching over a sleeping child. At the end of this stanza, we see the refrain for the first time: *you are too young to know it now, but some time you shall know.* The parent already understands that this love is something the child can't see yet, and is at peace with that.
Some time when, in a darkened place / Where others come to weep,
Editor's note
This stanza marks a significant shift in the poem: it leaps ahead to the speaker's own funeral. The "darkened place" likely refers to a funeral home or church, while the "face / Calm in eternal sleep" describes the speaker's deceased face. The child, now an adult, gazes down at that still, wrinkled face, and there's a slight change in the refrain: *some time you **may** know.* That switch from "shall" to "may" feels genuine. The speaker isn't sure that the depth of parental love will be fully understood at that moment, only that it's possible.
Look backward, then, into the years, / And see me here to-night--
Editor's note
The final stanza invites the adult child to do something extraordinary: to reach back into memory to this very night and scene. The speaker is crafting the poem in real time — *notice how my tears fall as I write* — and encourages the future reader (his own child) to experience that moment. The kiss referenced earlier in the poem is offered again across the years. The refrain reverts to "shall" in the last line, bringing back the certainty that was momentarily softened in the second stanza. The poem concludes like a sealed letter, written now, waiting to be opened by grief.

§04Tone & mood

How this poem feels

Tender and quietly sorrowful, with an underlying sense of acceptance. Field never veers into self-pity. The speaker isn't seeking sympathy — he’s just capturing a love that remains unrecognized. There’s a certain tranquility in the poem’s sadness, reflecting how one can experience both grief and gratitude simultaneously.

§05Symbols & metaphors

Symbols & metaphors

The sleeping child: Innocence that truly doesn't recognize the emotional world around it. The child's sleep isn't a metaphor for death — it's real sleep — but it does form a one-sided closeness where the parent perceives everything while the child perceives nothing.
The kiss on the brow: A gesture that runs through the entire poem. In the first stanza, it’s offered to a living, sleeping child, and it's remembered in the last stanza as "the kiss of long ago." This same physical act serves as a connection spanning a lifetime.
The darkened place / the calm face: The speaker's own corpse is described without hesitation. The "patient smile" on the lifeless face hints at a life marked by quiet resilience. By presenting his death in such straightforward terms, Field removes any sentimentality, allowing the poem's grief to resonate more profoundly.
Tears falling as I write: The act of writing the poem becomes part of the poem itself. The tears serve as evidence — a direct testament to the future child that this love was genuine and felt on this particular night.
The refrain ("some time you shall / may know"): The repeated line acts as the backbone of the poem. The slight shift — changing "shall" to "may" in the middle stanza before reverting to "shall" — reflects the speaker's journey through confidence, doubt, and ultimately, a decision about whether love can genuinely be conveyed beyond time and death.

§06Historical context

Historical context

Eugene Field wrote this poem in the late 1800s, a time when child mortality rates were high and parents faced the grim reality that they could lose their children at a young age. Field himself had eight kids and earned the nickname "poet of childhood" in American literature. In this poem, he flips the typical fears of that time: instead of the child facing early death, it's the parent who contemplates their own mortality while imagining their child living into adulthood. Field included it in *A Little Book of Western Verse* (1889), which was intended for everyday readers rather than literary critics. Its straightforward language and catchy ballad rhythm led to it being widely shared in newspapers and gift books, much like how popular songs spread today. Field passed away in 1895 at just 45, adding a personal touch to the poem—he didn't get to witness his children grow up.

§07FAQ

Questions readers ask

The speaker, likely the poet himself, is addressing his young child who is peacefully sleeping in a crib. The child is unaware of the words being spoken, which is central to the poem's message.

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SOME TIME by Eugene Field

SOME TIME

What this poem is about

Recurring themes

Stanza by stanza, with notes

How this poem feels

Symbols & metaphors

Historical context

Questions readers ask

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