In The Dark by A. A. Milne - Fantastic Poem To Read To Your Kids Before Bed

Anyone who really knows me, knows I LOVE old books. I love books that were published pre-1950, especially if they are children's books. I've always loved children's books, and now I get to enjoy them with my own kids.

I found a neat little set of books at an antique store in Walterboro, SC last month. They are When We Were Very Young and Now We Are Six, by A. A. Milne. I'm sure you recognize the name A. A. Milne. He was the author of the Winnie the Pooh books with Christopher Robin. The books I purchased that day in Walterboro were precursors to Winnie the Pooh. What beautiful books they are! And they have decorations by Ernest H. Shepard, the illustrator who brought Winnie the Pooh to life. I guess back then they called illustrations, decorations. Such neat, neat books. They are two of my favorite "finds".

So tonight I was reading Now We Are Six to my daughter. It is a collection of poems for kids. Tonight we read the poem In the Dark. I just LOVE this poem. I so wish I had found it years ago when my kids were really, really little. I would have memorized it and recited it to them each night. Em is still just eight, so she still appreciates it. Here it is for those of you who may like to read or recite it to your kids:

In the Dark

"I've had my supper,
And had my supper,
And HAD my supper and all;
I've heard the story
Of Cinderella,
And how she went to the ball;I've cleaned my teeth,
And I've said my prayers,
And I've cleaned and said them right;And they've all of them been
And kissed me lots,
They've all of said "Good-night."
So - here I am in the dark alone,
There's nobody here to see;
I think to myself,
I play to myself,
And nobody knows what I say to myself;
Here I am in the dark alone,
What is it going to be?
I can think whatever I like to think,
I can play whatever I like to play,
I can laugh whatever I like to laugh,
There's nobody here but me.

I'm talking to a rabbit ...
I'm talking to the sun...
I think I am a hundred -
I'm one.
I'm lying in a forest ...
I'm lying in a cave ...
I'm talking to a Dragon ...
I'm BRAVE.
I'm lying on my left side ...
I'm lying on my right ...
I'll play a lot tommorrow ...
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
I'll think a lot tomorrow ...
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
I'll laugh ...
.....
a lot ........
......
tomorrow .....
(Heigh-ho!)
Good-night."
A. A. Milne

Does that not remind you of going to bed when you were a child!?! I so love this poem.

Cited from Now We Are Six, by A. A. Milne, E. P. Dutton and Co., 1927, pgs. 99-101.