✦ A Classic Poem ✦
Poor tired Tim! He lags the long bright morning through, ever so tired of nothing to do. A short, funny, sympathetic poem about a very bored boy.
Read aloud by Storyland Classics ✦ 55 seconds ✦ Watch on YouTube
✦ The Poem ✦
by Walter de la Mare, from Peacock Pie (1913). Public domain in the United States.
Poor tired Tim! It’s sad for him. He lags the long bright morning through, Ever so tired of nothing to do; He moons and mopes the livelong day, Nothing to think about, nothing to say; Up to bed with his candle to creep, Too tired to yawn, too tired to sleep: Poor tired Tim! It’s sad for him.
✦ About the Poem ✦
Walter de la Mare (1873–1956) was an English poet famous for quiet, dreamlike poems full of moonlight, mystery, and small sounds in the night. Peacock Pie, his 1913 book of rhymes for children, has never gone out of print.
Tim is not tired from working hard. He is tired from doing nothing at all, which anyone who has had a long, bored day will recognize. The poem starts and ends with the same line, as if Tim is stuck going round in circles.
✦ Talk About It ✦