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"Wynken, Blynken, and Nod"
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| Many of us adults know this children's nursery rhyme, but have you ever wondered who Wynken Blynken and Nod really were? Well, let me tell you! They are the left eye, the right eye, and the child's sleepy head. This is a light-hearted poem about a child who is ready for bedtime while mother sings a lullaby. The child's eyes grow heavier and heavier - while they try to keep them open, of course - and speaks of the little child's head as it starts bobbing and nodding as they drift off to dreamland. |
Wynken, Blynken, and Nod
by Eugene Field
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 afeard 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 on the misty sea
Where the old shoe rocked the fishermen three,
Wynken,
Blynken,
And Nod.
~Eugene Field (1850-1895)
As an American writer, Field was best known for his humorous essays and children's poetry, such as his most famous one – Wynken, Blyken, and Nod. After numerous attempts of trying different careers, he finally became a journalist for the Gazette in Saint Joseph, Missouri in 1875. His light, humorous articles were written in a gossipy style, and several were published in newspapers across the country. It was in 1879 that he first began to publish his poetry.
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