Night-Nursery Thoughts-Frances Cornford

NIGHT-NURSERY THOUGHTS

O sometimes when I wake at night

I think the moon so round and bright,

That it must fall for very light.

That lovely, lovely liquid fall

Would make the stars cry out and call,

But would not burn my hands at all.

Now even raindrops off the tip

Of leaves and twigs, soft, softly drip;

But if the moon should suddenly slip,

You'd never hear the softest sup.

And nobody could scrape it up;

It would not stay in any cup.

The moon would fall without a sound,

Without a stain upon the ground,

And in the morning, not be found.

FRANCES CORNFORD 

Summary: The poem 'Night-Nursery Thoughts' by Frances Cornford depicts the thoughts of a child who wakes up at night and thinks about the moon. The child imagines that the moon is so round and light that it could fall from the sky like a lovely liquid, making the stars cry out and call. However, the child also realizes that the moon would not burn their hands if it fell. The child contrasts the soft sound of raindrops falling to the silent fall of the moon, which would not make a sound if it fell. The child ends the poem by imagining that the moon would leave no trace and could not be found in the morning if it were to fall.