At evening when I go to bed
I see the stars shine overhead;
They are the little daisies white
That dot the meadow of the Night.
And often while I’m dreaming so,
Across the sky the Moon will go;
It is a lady, sweet and fair,
Who comes to gather daisies there.
For, when at morning I arise,
There’s not a star left in the skies;
She’s picked them all and dropped them down
Into the meadows of the town.
The Poems of Frank Dempster Sherman (1917) | Frank Dempster Sherman (1860–1916)
Suggestions
Ask your students to do one or more of the following:
- Poems beg to be read aloud. Be sure not to pause at every line, but only pause at the punctuation.
- What is the rhyme scheme? (AABB)
- Draw or illustrate the poem. Copy the poem below the illustration.
- Learn more about personification.
- What is being personified in this poem?
- What is the meadow in the first stanza? (the sky)
- Compare/contrast this poem about daisies to that of William Bliss Carmen. What is the main difference between the poems? (One poem is about the flower; in the other daisies to refer to stars.)
- Learn more about stars.
Additional Resources
Poems and Prayers for the Very Young by Martha Alexander
Poetry for the youngest includes favorites by Christina Rossetti, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Robert Browning, and many others. Perfect for quiet-time reading.
A Child’s Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson
More beautiful verses in this perennial children’s favorite. Read our full review.
14 Forms of Writing for the Older Student: Poetry
Ideas for doing more with the poem.
