There is perhaps no more inn0cent exploration of sleep than a lullaby. Almost all of us know at least one lullaby, and upon hearing a familiar one, I am thrown back into the experience of being a child and falling asleep to my dad's slightly off-key singing. This lullaby is tied deeply into nature, comparing the child to a newborn bird (another classic example of innocence and vulnerability). I find it incredibly sweet, and somewhat similar to the Indian lullabies my parents would sing to me.
Little born baby-bird, lapped in your nest,
Wrapped in your nest,
Strapped in your nest,
Your straight little cradle-board rocks you to rest;
Its hands are your nest;
Its bands are your nest;
It swings from the down-bending branch of the oak;
You watch the camp flame, and the curling grey smoke;
But, oh, for your pretty black eyes sleep is best,—
Little brown baby of mind, go to rest.
Little brown baby-bird swinging to sleep,
Winging to sleep,
Singing to sleep,
Your wonder-black eyes that so wide open keep,
Shielding their sleep,
Unyielding to sleep,
The heron is homing, the plover is still,
The night-owl calls from his haunt on the hill,
Afar the fox barks, afar the stars peep,—
Little brown baby of mind, go to sleep.