Wynken, Blynken, and Nod

Eugene Field 1850 (St. Louis) – 1895 (Chicago)



Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night
 Sailed off in a wooden shoe,--
Sailed on a river of crystal light
 Into a sea of dew.
"Where are you going, and what do you wish?"
 The old moon asked the three.
"We have come to fish for the herring-fish
 That live in this beautiful sea;
 Nets of silver and gold have we,"
Said Wynken,
Blynken,
And Nod.

The old moon laughed and sang a song,
 As they rocked in the wooden shoe;
And the wind that sped them all night long
 Ruffled the waves of dew;
The little stars were the herring-fish
 That lived in the beautiful sea.
"Now cast your nets wherever you wish,--
 Never afraid are we!"
 So cried the stars to the fishermen three,
Wynken,
Blynken,
And Nod.

All night long their nets they threw
 To the stars in the twinkling foam,--
Then down from the skies came the wooden shoe,
 Bringing the fishermen home:
'Twas all so pretty a sail, it seemed
 As if it could not be;
And some folk thought 'twas a dream they'd dreamed
 Of sailing that beautiful sea;
 But I shall name you the fishermen three:
Wynken,
Blynken,
And Nod.

Wynken and Blynken are two little eyes,
 And Nod is a little head,
And the wooden shoe that sailed the skies
 Is a wee one's trundle-bed;
So shut your eyes while Mother sings
 Of wonderful sights that be,
And you shall see the beautiful things
 As you rock in the misty sea
 Where the old shoe rocked the fishermen three:--
Wynken,
Blynken,
And Nod.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on May 03, 2023

1:20 min read
474

Quick analysis:

Scheme ababcdcddeEF gbgbcdcddEEF bhbhididdEEF jkjkldlddEEF
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 1,369
Words 269
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 12, 12, 12, 12

Eugene Field

Eugene Field, Sr. was an American writer, best known for his children's poetry and humorous essays. more…

All Eugene Field poems | Eugene Field Books

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