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Poems of childhood

Chapter 27: LITTLE MISTRESS SANS-MERCI

By Eugene Field

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Children & Young Adult Reading Poetry

About This Book

A collection of short lyrical poems written for and about children, blending playful nonsense, gentle lullabies, and nostalgic reminiscence. Many pieces evoke bedtime and nursery scenes, give voice to toys and animals, or imagine voyages and fairylike adventures, mixing humor with a tender melancholy. Several poems adapt or echo folk-song material, while others are brief narrative or character sketches that vary in meter and mood. Overall the verses create an intimate domestic atmosphere, inviting readers into childlike wonder through simple rhythms, vivid small-scale imagery, and affectionate observation.

LITTLE MISTRESS SANS-MERCI

Little Mistress Sans-Merci

Fareth world-wide, fancy free:

Trotteth cooing to and fro,

And her cooing is command—

Never ruled there yet, I trow,

Mightier despot in the land.

And my heart it lieth where

Mistress Sans-Merci doth fare.

Little Mistress Sans-Merci—

She hath made a slave of me!

“Go,” she biddeth, and I go—

“Come,” and I am fain to come—

Never mercy doth she show,

Be she wroth or frolicsome,

Yet am I content to be

Slave to Mistress Sans-Merci!

Little Mistress Sans-Merci

Hath become so dear to me

That I count as passing sweet

All the pain her moods impart,

And I bless the little feet

That go trampling on my heart:

Ah, how lonely life would be

But for little Sans-Merci!

Little Mistress Sans-Merci,

Cuddle close this night to me,

And the heart, which all day long

Ruthless thou hast trod upon,

Shall outpour a soothing song

For its best-belovèd one—

All its tenderness for thee,

Little Mistress Sans-Merci!