Slumber Song by Marie Van Vorst
The White Elf Mother sings her child to sleep as night winds brush lilies and hidden blue flowers, alders sigh and bend, and an owl whirs. She assures the child that glowing elfin lights will bring the slumber fairies and that nothing is stirring to cause fear. Amid singing tree-tops, dancing fairies scatter white dreams from their mantles while flying winds rock the cradle. As insects croon, white elves creep softly near and merry pipes tune themselves for the child’s lullaby.
By Marie Van Vorst · First published 1908 · Genre: Lullaby Poetry, Fantasy Poetry, Children's Poetry · 184 words
First lines
(The White Elf Mother sings.)
When the low flying wind, awake, / Brushes the lilies, and the low / Blue flowers hidden in the brake, -- / When the sighing Alders bend and shake, --
When the owl's whirring, -- Hush thee, dear! / For all the elfin lights aglow / Will guide the slumber fairies here, / Naught is stirring / For my child to fear.
When the strange sighing tree-tops sing, / Dance all the fairies to and fro / And white dreams from their mantles fling, / While the flying / Winds thy cradle swing.
What this Textopian page supports
Slumber Song is listed on Textopian as a poem by Marie Van Vorst, dated 1908 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Poem
- Author: Marie Van Vorst
- Date: 1908 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Lullaby Poetry, Fantasy Poetry, Children's Poetry, Nature Poetry, Lyric Poetry
- Length: 184 words
- Structure: 1 section, 5 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for Slumber Song by Marie Van Vorst
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
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Similar titles
- To Morrow by Marie Van Vorst
- The Boon by Marie Van Vorst
- Fantasy by Marie Van Vorst
- The Rose by Marie Van Vorst
- Summer by Marie Van Vorst
- The Apostrophe by Marie Van Vorst
Genres
- Lullaby Poetry — The poem is explicitly structured as a song intended to soothe a child to sleep, using repeated commands to hush and imagery of a cradle being swung.
- Fantasy Poetry — White elves, slumber fairies, elfin lights, magical dreams, and fairy dancing create a distinctly fantastical world.
- Children's Poetry — Its gentle voice, bedtime purpose, musical repetition, and reassuring address to a child suit young listeners and readers.
- Nature Poetry — The verse foregrounds wind, lilies, blue flowers, alders, owls, tree-tops, and insects, all portrayed as part of a nocturnal natural setting.
Tags
fiction · novel · romance · drama · American literature · early 20th century · English-language literature · social realism · society life · upper-class society · love · marriage