# Dulcis Memoria explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Henry van Dyke Jr..

## What happens

A reflective poem on the enduring power of memory, recalling a sweet song, a fair flower, and a beloved child who was taken by an angel. The speaker pleads with memory to preserve these precious, small details forever.

## Themes in this chapter

### Grief and Memory

The entire poem is a meditation on holding onto the memory of a lost child through song, flower, and recollection.

### Love and Sacrifice

The parents' love for their child is expressed through the pain of loss and the act of keeping his memory alive.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown

The speaker who recalls the song, flower, and child, and addresses memory directly.

### Mary

The mother of the child, mentioned as sharing the child's smile with the speaker.

## Key lines

> Long, long ago I heard a little song, (Ah, was it long ago, or yesterday?)

I remember hearing a small song a very long time ago—or perhaps it was just yesterday.

_The speaker blurs the line between distant past and recent memory._

> An angel called! Dear heart, we could not hold him; Yet secretly your arms and mine infold him— Our little child who does not go away.

An angel summoned our child, and we could not keep him physically, but in our hearts we still embrace him as if he never left.

_The child's death is described as a calling by an angel, and the parents' enduring love keeps him spiritually present._

> Sweet memory, keep our child with us alway.

Dear memory, please preserve our child with us forever.

_The speaker personifies memory and pleads for the child to remain eternally remembered._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_10_se/chapters/dulcis-memoria
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_10_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_10_se/chapters