First Stage of the Journey by Sarah Noble Ives
A mother celebrates her infant daughter Dorothy's first steps as the beginning of life's journey. Dorothy stands alone with her mother's help, then starts and runs unsteadily forward, her first movement along what the poem calls the Shining Way. The mother smiles through a tear, aware that she will guide Dorothy only for the first few miles of the road ahead, and sends her off on her joyful journey.
By Sarah Noble Ives · Genre: Poetry, Children's Literature, Coming-of-age · 142 words
First lines
Sing ho! for the road that opens down / Out of the sleepy old Baby Town. / Sing ho! for the joy of the Shining Way, / For Dorothy took her first steps to-day.
Mother has helped her alone to stand, / And now she is holding her dimpled hand, / And now there's a start and a tipsy run, / And life on the road is well begun.
There's a tear in the midst of Mother's smiles, / But Mother will lead her the first few miles. / So let her start on her journey gay. / Sing ho! for the joy of the Shining Way.
Similar titles
- Baby Eva by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
- Holiday Memories by Ruth Collie
- To A Child Blowing Bubbles by Ruth Collie
- On The Shining Way by Sarah Noble Ives
- To Dick On His Sixth Birthday by Sara Teasdale
- Three Years Old by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Genres
- Poetry — The work is composed entirely in verse form with structured rhyming patterns and lyrical rhythm, making it fundamentally a poem.
- Children's Literature — The subject matter concerns a child's developmental milestone and employs accessible, celebratory language appropriate for young readers.
- Coming-of-age — The poem marks a significant threshold moment in a child's development, symbolizing the beginning of independence and life's journey.
- Sentimental/Emotional — The work centers on emotional resonance, capturing the bittersweet mixture of joy and maternal sadness at witnessing child development.
Tags
infancy · first steps · childhood · motherhood · mother-child relationship · parental love · life's journey · coming of age · growth · metaphor · bittersweet · letting go
What this Textopian page supports
First Stage of the Journey is listed on Textopian as a poem by Sarah Noble Ives, dated Date unknown.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Poem
- Author: Sarah Noble Ives
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Poetry, Children's Literature, Coming-of-age, Sentimental/Emotional, Domestic/Family
- Length: 142 words
- Structure: 1 section, 3 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Very Easy (5th Grade or below)
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- Work identity for First Stage of the Journey by Sarah Noble Ives
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- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
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