Eugene Field was an unusual poet. He was one of the few poets who wrote only children's poetry. That is how he got his nickname, The Children's Poet. It all started September 2, 1850, at 634 South Broadway in Saint Louis. That's where and when Eugene Field was born. He had one brother named Roswell, who was one year younger than he, and a sister who died soon after her birth. He and his brother were very close, but very different. Eugene took after their mother, Francis, while Roswell took after their father. Eugene was afraid of the dark while his brother wasn't afraid of anything. Eugene hated studying while Roswell loved it. When the boys were six and five, their mother died. Mr. Field sent them to live with their cousin, Mary French, in Massachusetts until he could take care of them. While living on their cousin's farm, Eugene wrote his first poem . He was nine then, and the poem was about their cousin's dog, Fido. At the age of fifteen, Eugene was shipped off to a small private school in Massachusetts. There were only five boys in the school, and Eugene loved leading the boys in tricks against the master of the school.

   Eugene went on to William's College in Massachusetts. Unfortunately, his father died when he was nineteen and he dropped out after eight months. Next he went to Knox College but dropped out of college after a year. Then he went to the University of Missouri, where his brother was also attending. While there, he met Julia Comstock, who was fourteen. When Julia turned sixteen, she and Eugene married. They had eight children. Two died as babies, another died as a little boy. The remaining five grew up and had long lives.

   While married, Eugene had many jobs. He worked for many newspapers until the Chicago Daily News offered him a job. He wrote a humorous column called "Sharps and Flats". In 1895, Eugene Field died. He had written many poems, and had accomplished everything he had wished to accomplish.

    Eugene Field will be remembered mostly for being a children's poet. Some of his most famous poems are "Wynken, Blynken, and Nod"; "The Duel"; and "Little Boy Blue".

With Trumpet and Drum

With big tin trumpet and little red drum
Marching like soldiers, the children come!
My! but that music of theirs is fine!
This way and that way, and after a while
They march straight into this heart of mine!
A sturdy old heart, but it has to succumb
To the blare of that trumpet and beat of that drum!

Come on, little people, from cot and from hall-
This heart it hath welcome and room for you all!
It will sing you it's songs and warm you with love,
As your dear little arms with my arms intertwine;
It will rock you away to the dreamland above-
Oh, a jolly old heart is this heart of mine,  
And jollier still is it bound to become
When you blow that big trumpet and beat that red drum!

So come; though I see not his dear little face
And hear not his voice in this jubilant place,
I know he were happy to bid me enshrine
His memory deep in my heart with your play-
Ah me! But a love that is sweeter than mine
Holdeth my boy in its keeping to-day!
And my heart it is lonely-so little folk come,
March in and make merry with trumpet and drum!

   This poem makes me feel very proud of America; proud of how our country has improved since it was first founded. The poem also makes me think of America as more of a person, a spirit, than just the place I have lived most of my life.

   Eugene Field has rhymed this poem as he does in all of his poems. What I like about this poem is it is rhyming, but the rhymes do not seem like he had to use strange words to make it rhyme. It sounds like it was easy for him to rhyme this poem, not like he spent half the night thinking of a word to rhyme with drum. I also like the way the poem has more meaning than just words on paper. You really think about what the words mean, instead of just look at them for a couple of seconds. It is that way in all of his poems, even though he doesn't write about the same things every time.

    I noticed that Eugene Field has a very old-fashioned way of writing his poems. He uses words like to-day, hath, and holdeth. The rhyme scheme of this poem is: a-a-b-c-b-c-d-d.

   I think that Eugene Field probably wrote this on Independence Day to celebrate. The poem has a certain Independence Day feel to it, at least in my opinion. I think that this is my favorite poem by Eugene Field because it has very nice rhymes and really neat words.

Researched and written by Wendy