Chapter (24) AS I LAY IN BED..

A POEM TOLD TO US BY OUR FATHER BACK IN THE 50'S WHEN WE WERE SMALL KIDS. THE AUTHOR IS UNKNOWN.

When my siblings and I were small my father would often tell us this poem before sending us to bed.

 

As I lay in bed at night and the wind is blowing cold,

I sometimes lie with an half open eye

and think what I'll do when I'm old.
I think of the man in charge of the train,

that I hear rushing on through the night,
          YES,

that would be the right job for me,

then I yawn and curl up tight.

          OR

the postman who comes rat a tat at our door

to deliver a letter or card.
He stamps his feet out there in the street

and I think he must work very hard.

          OR
The policeman in blue who holds up his hand

to the lorry with the big heavy load,
he is kind and he is tall and as I'm so small

he sees me over the road.

But I think  after all I would rather go far

where the salt sea is purple and deep,
and sail far away but before it is day,

my eyes close, and I fall fast asleep.

 

Unknown Author. Circa 1900.

Reviews

[Mikayla_Stagg]

Nice poem. Keep writing.....

[Dilan Gunawardana]

A very nice poem, thanks for sharing.

[MAD ENGLISHMAN]

I would dearly love to trace the origin of this family poem. I do know it is at least 100 years old.

[icelandicblue]

We see what is before us but wonder what is across the ocean. Is it as magical and different as I imagine? It is a lovely poem.

[MAD ENGLISHMAN]

Thank you dear friend

[Baby Ricochet]

AH the Navy. A branch of the military you're all but guaranteed not to get shot at. Still, there was that USS Cole business.

[MsJewel]

A wonderful poem and a wonderful memory!

:) Julie

[MAD ENGLISHMAN]

Many thanks for reading.

[Marie]

That's very nice. THere are so many things a child can think about being...and even today I fantasize about different possibilities in my life, until I fall asleep.

[stars are far]

haha that was so intersting work, well done

[Lyn Anderson]

I love your clever use of rhyme here -- even the lay/lie works because of the rhyme. Great little poem here.

[MAD ENGLISHMAN]

Thank you. I'm trying to discover the original author.

[MomzillaNC]

A very sweet little poem. I read to my little boy all the time. I always wondered if any of it sticks with him. I wouldn't' know from experience as my mom didn't read to us that I recall.

[MAD ENGLISHMAN]

I think that even today in this modern world the moments of closeness between a child and a parent is so important. I'm so happy to hear you read to your little boy. He'll remember it for ever and the bond that you have built with him will never be broken.

[MomzillaNC]

I do know it's made him a rabid a bibliophile as me. The child simply adores, adores, adores books! He's been reading since he was three years old. At ten, he already reads on a college level.

[MAD ENGLISHMAN]

That's so cool. My son was the same. He's had the most amazing school life. He's 19 now and is earning 6 figure salary. The reading is the clue to success.

[MomzillaNC]

My son is struggling in school. He's ADHD in a class of 30 kids with just one teacher and no aide. He's a brilliant child; I just can't wrap my brain around the way his mind works! :D

[MAD ENGLISHMAN]

Like my boy he struggled at first but it was lack of interest in the class room. When we approached the school and explained that our boy could grasp concepts beyond the average class age he started to advance. keeping the mind occupied and challenged was all he needed. Take heart. keep your son active and encourage all and any interests. Okay advise over.

[MomzillaNC]

I'm sorry to say that things don't work that way here. They said he has ADHD (a diagnosis I accept) and is Autistic and has Asperger's Syndrome: neither of which I accept. Then, they recommend drug therapy: they want obedient little automatons in those seats even if they have to drug the kids to have them fall in line. Rather than cutting class sizes and adding more teaching professionals, they'll spend billions on drug therapies. But will not layout one thin dime to help with recommended drug-free therapies -- even when the child psychologist THEY paid for is the one recommending the therapies.

[MAD ENGLISHMAN]

I'm so sorry to hear that. It seems you are in a hole without much of a ladder. I wish you and your son well.

[MomzillaNC]

Thank you. I'm very afraid he's being lost in the shuffle. For example, they have this "Common Core" system that REQUIRES math problems are solved with a specific strategy. If the answer is correct, but the strategy used to find it is not, then the answer is incorrect. Only dang place I've ever seen were 2 + 2 = 4 can be wrong! The strategy they require is very confusing to him. But, he can solve even high digit long division correctly if allowed to use a strategy he can understand.

He turned in a entire homework page of long division. Every answer was correct. I checked it with the calculator and I checked his work every step of the way. But, because he did not use "rectangle strategy," they gave him a zero on that homework assignment! I just wanted to throttle someone!