Golden Slumbers
Golden slumbers kiss your eyes,
Smiles await when you rise
Sleep, pretty baby, do not cry,
And I will sing a lullaby.
Care you know not, therefore sleep
While over you a watch I’ll keep.
Sleep, pretty darling, do not cry,
And I will sing you a lullaby.
“Golden Slumbers” is a lullaby adapted from a poem by Thomas Dekker, an English playwright and poet, written around 1603. The original verses appeared in his play Patient Grissel, and the lullaby has been cherished for centuries as a tender expression of parental love and protection. The gentle imagery—“golden slumbers,” “smiles await”—evokes a peaceful innocence, offering emotional comfort and assurance of safety.
The lullaby has been passed down in various musical forms, including a famous rendition by The Beatles in 1969, which further popularized it as a symbol of sweet rest, maternal care, and escape from worldly worries. Its enduring appeal lies in its promise: that sleep is a sanctuary, and that someone loving is always near to guard the child from harm.
Botfly Slumber
Filthy hands rub your pink eye,
No one cares if you rise
Soiled, hungry baby, does not cry,
As you swat away the botflies.
Play, you know not, therefore sleep
While over you a death watch keeps
Still, poor ragamuffin does not cry,
As you swat away the botflies.
Golden slumbers kiss your eyes… But not every child drifts to sleep in safety. In desperate corners of the world, orphaned babies lie silent in overcrowded, understaffed institutions—neglected, malnourished, and untouched.
Many of them have learned not to cry, because no one comes. They lie in cribs caked in filth, swatting flies instead of reaching for toys, and staring blankly into the dark instead of into the eyes of a caregiver. This is not just tragedy. It’s a quiet horror—made worse by our comfort, distance, and inaction.
We lull our own children to sleep with lullabies while others fade away without ever being sung to. The global orphan crisis is not a distant issue. It’s a test of our humanity. And too often, we are failing it.
