Poetry · Chapter
Bedtime explained
The poem contrasts the bedtime routine of children, who reluctantly obey the call to sleep, with the watchful patience of adults who stay up late, busy with tasks, awaiting the Father's gentle arrival to carry them to bed.
What happens
The poem contrasts the bedtime routine of children, who reluctantly obey the call to sleep, with the watchful patience of adults who stay up late, busy with tasks, awaiting the Father's gentle arrival to carry them to bed.
Themes in this chapter
Childhood and Innocence
The children's reluctant obedience and the imagery of toys and kites evoke a pure, innocent stage of life.
Divine Fatherhood
The Father's gentle tread and act of carrying to bed symbolize God's loving care and guidance.
Characters to notice
Key passages
“Come, children, put away your toys; Roll up that kite’s long line; The day is done for girls and boys— Look, it is almost nine!”
Children, it's time to stop playing and put your toys away; the day is over and it's nearly nine o'clock.
The call to bedtime marks the end of daytime activities.
“We, elder ones, sit up more late, And tasks unfinished ply, But, gently busy, watch and wait— Dear sister, you and I, To hear the Father, with soft tread, Coming to carry us to bed.”
We adults stay up later, working on unfinished tasks, but we quietly keep busy and wait for the Father to come gently and carry us to bed.
The adults' anticipation of the Father's arrival mirrors a spiritual longing for divine rest.