Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THROUGH SLEEPY-LAND, by JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY



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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THROUGH SLEEPY-LAND, by                 Poet Analysis     Poet's Biography
First Line: Where do you go when you go
Last Line: Through the blind-world 'way in there!
Alternate Author Name(s): Johnson Of Boone, Benj. F.
Subject(s): Children; Fairy Tales; Fantasy; Sleep; Childhood


WHERE do you go when you go to sleep,
Little Boy! Little Boy! where?
'Way -- 'way in where's Little Bo-Peep,
And Little Boy Blue, and the Cows and Sheep
A-wandering 'way in there -- in there --
A-wandering 'way in there!

And what do you see when lost in dreams,
Little Boy, 'way in there?
Firefly-glimmers and glowworm gleams,
And silvery, low, slow-sliding streams,
And mermaids, smiling out -- 'way in where
They're a-hiding -- 'way in there!

Where do you go when the Fairies call,
Little Boy! Little Boy! where?
Wade through the dews of the grasses tall,
Hearing the weir and the waterfall
And the Wee Folk -- 'way in there -- in there --
And the Kelpies -- 'way in there!

And what do you do when you wake at dawn,
Little Boy! Little Boy! what?
Hug my Mommy and kiss her on
Her smiling eyelids, sweet and wan,
And tell her everything I've forgot,
A-wandering 'way in there -- in there --
Through the blind-world 'way in there!





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