The poem is a lament for the death of a child, mourning the loss of innocence and the pain of the mother who bore her. The speaker describes the child's peaceful sleep, untouched by the pain of life, and the mother's grief in holding her close even in death. The poem expresses the longing for a glorious afterlife where the child will be reunited with her mother, but meanwhile, the harsh reality of death and burial is acknowledged.
By Edith Nesbit · First published 1914 · Genre: Horror, Gothic Fiction, Mystery