A lonely young wife
In her dreaming discerns
A lily-decked pool
With a border of ferns,
And a beautiful child,
With butterfly wings,
Trips down to the edge of the water and sings:
‘Come, mamma! come!
‘Quick! follow me—
‘Step out on the leaves of the water-lily!’
And the lonely young wife,
Her heart beating wild,
Cries, ‘Wait till I come,
‘Till I reach you, my child!’
But the beautiful child
With butterfly wings
Steps out on the leaves of the lily and sings:
‘Come, mamma! come!
‘Quick! follow me!
‘And step on the leaves of the water-lily!
And the wife in her dreaming
Steps out on the stream,
But the lily leaves sink
And she wakes from her dream.
Ah, the waking is sad,
For the tears that it brings,
And she knows ’tis her dead baby’s spirit that sings:
‘Come, mamma! come!
‘Quick! follow me!
‘Step out on the leaves of the water-lily!’
Notes
This poem was adapted for singing by Priscilla Herdman (US) as recorded on The Water Lily, © 1977, Philo CD 1014 (CD); a link to Herdman's recording is: http://www.priscillaherdman.com/ph__200.htm
CN
In a published book
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This has become our poem and song of choice
From guest Steve Schwartzer (contact)
We lost our son Jackson, a stillborn in 2003. A version of this poem is sung as song at a yearly memorial service for children that have gone before their time. It brings us to tears everytime we hear it or read the words. Yet it brings us hope and peace at the same time, knowing we will be reunited with him someday. For others that would like to hear this poem set to music, search for the The Water Lily by Priscilla Herdman...it's beautiful! -
The water lily
From guest Tish (contact)
i love this poem, it is so sweet. it rhymes perfectly..... i am using this poem to present infront of my class -
I have loved this for a long time
From guest Kristine Storey (contact)
I first fell in love with this poem when I was in primary school. I had to choose a poem to read to the class. As I spoke to my mother about it she remembered about her collection of works by Henry Lawson and Banjo Patterson. She flipped through the pages and stumbled across poems she remembered reading when she was a child with her mum and dad. This sparked my interest further. We then came across The Water Lilly and it soon became one of our most favourite poems. We still talk about it now and it brings us closer together as the miles separate us, but the love of a parent and child keeps us close eachothers side. -
The Water Lily by Henry Lawson
From guest Christine Conwell (contact)
THis poem could be written for my ancestor's little girl aged 5 years, called Mary Greer. Her father was a sawyer and timber cutter just west of Ipswich in Queensland. On on the 15th December 1862, she accidentally fell into a creek. and the inquest was held at Seven Mile Creek, where there was just an inn. Verdict: Accidental drowning. Imagine the grief of the parents. Henry Lawson's beautiful poem highlights that so well. -
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Christine-
A good poem does have more general appeal, and Lawson was good about reaching out to folks in his time, and in ours.
Charley Noble
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comfort and/or pain?
Even in the sadness and the tears that such a dream brings, there's still some comfort to the mother that her dead child still exists in her mind or on another plain. Unless one has such a loss it is hard to understand why there might be comfort rather than pain, or both!
Certainly when I was in my twenties, back in the Pleistocene, I had no such thoughts.
Charley Noble
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One of the fun things about reading poetry on this site is seeing how different people react to a poem. This one is a good example, some love it, most find it sad. I'm not in that group. I like some of Lawson's poetry, even when it is quaint, it's usually rustic, a style that is pleasant to me. But this just seems too affected for my taste. But it's these differing opinions that for me, helps make OldPoetry enjoyable. And while I may find the poem a little mawkish, I do understand that those who have lost a child might find this far more relevant than I, for it speaks the language they may need or want to hear.
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A different kind of poem from Henry Lawson.A lot of his work is about the rural life of the times and he usually picks the sad part of that life. This is a different style of writing but he still keeps up the sad side. A beautiful poem, none the less.
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wow....
From guest Yukii Kondo (contact)
the best poem ever. so sad yet so wonderful! how does henry lawson do that?! -
Death go lightly
Imagine the death of your child / calling you to 'come follow me'/ who could resist? -
The Water-Lily
From guest Helen Lawson (contact)
My father used to recite this poem to my siblings and I and it is the first poem I ever heard. It still has the ability to bring tears to my eyes 50 years later. Henry Lawson - the greatest poet who ever lived. -
loss of a baby
From guest roslyn dorman (contact)
i lost a child myself 1990 bought a book this poem was in it i still read it over and over -
so true
From guest Rebecca Doll (contact)
It is sad but true. The fact that a son could write this about his mother and be able to articulate how she felt about loosing a child is incredible. I look for this poem every year around the anniversary of the death of my baby, as it helps me cry and get the anger and pain out. -
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