From groves of spice,
O’er fields of rice,
Athwart the lotus-stream,
I bring for you,
Aglint with dew
A little lovely dream.

Sweet, shut your eyes,
The wild fire-flies
Dance through the fairy neem;
From the poppy-bole
For you I stole
A little lovely dream.

Dear eyes, good-night,
In golden light
The stars around you gleam;
On you I press
With soft caress
A little lovely dream.

Background:
Sarojini Naidu, known as "The nightingale of India", was a great Indian poet, orator, politician and administrator. Her poem "Cradle song" is a very gentle and tender song used to lull a child to sleep. This is being sung by a mother to her child who describes various picturesque places from where she says she brings her child a little lovely dream. The poem is a mother’s use of imagination and beautiful words which create a calming effect on the child and induce sleep. The mother gently caresses the child while singing and says she hopes the child sleeps well and has pleasant dreams. From the poem we can infer that it is based in an Indian village as she describes the spice groves, rice fields and a stream.

Structure:
The poem consists of three stanzas with the same number of lines in each stanza. Each stanza ends with the line "A little lovely dream". The poem has a rhyming scheme as the end of each line rhymes with the end of the next line.
Imagery has been used in the poem as the poet gives a visual description of the various locations using beautiful words. Since it is being sung to a child, she uses fantasy and a very pleasant and soothing tone.

Analysis:
"From groves of spice,
O’er fields of rice,
Athwart the lotus-stream,
I bring for you,
Aglint with dew
A little lovely dream."

This stanza is the mother’s description of the various places from where she says she gathers a dream for her child. She speaks about the fragrant spice groves from where she heads towards the rice fields. From the fields of rice she goes across the stream which is filled with beautiful lotuses which are glowing and glistening with dew drops. The mother’s song has a calming effect on the child. She wants her child to imagine all these beautiful things before falling asleep so that he sleeps well and has pleasant dreams.

"Sweet, shut your eyes,
The wild fire-fiies
Dance through the fairy neem;
From the poppy-bole
For you I stole
A little lovely dream."

The mother tells the child to shut his eyes and imagine the fire flies glowing in the dark and flying around the neem tree in a dance like motion. The neem tree is referred to as "the fairy neem" because it is considered to be a sacred tree by Indians. The "poppy-bole" refers to the poppy plant which is known for its bright colourful flowers. It is being mentioned here as it is an herbaceous plant and is often used for making herbal medicines that induce sleep. This is why the mother refers to it saying she stole from it a lovely dream, implying that she wants her child to have a sound sleep.

"Dear eyes, good-night,
In golden light
The stars around you gleam;
On you I press
With soft caress
A little lovely dream."

Finally, the child falls asleep and the mother bids him good night. The stars in the sky seem to shine brightly producing a golden light. As the mother gently pats the child to sleep, she hopes he has a sound sleep and pleasant dreams.

Summary:
The poem is a mother’s song to her child. She creates visually beautiful images to make sure the child has pleasant thoughts before falling asleep. She says that she carries a dream for the child from the fragrant spice groves and the rice fields. She describes the beautiful stream filled with lotuses which glisten with dew drops and across this stream she carries a dream for the child. The mother asks her child to shut his eyes and imagine the fireflies glowing in the dark and flying around the sacred neem tree. She says she hopes the child has a sleep as pleasant as the kind of sleep induced by the poppy plant. When the child falls asleep, the mother bids him good night and as she is gently caressing and patting him to sleep she says the stars seem to be shining with a golden light and she hopes he has pleasant dreams.

Theme:
The poem is a lullaby which is sung by a mother to put her child to sleep. We get an idea that this song is based in an Indian village as we can see the description of the spice groves, rice fields and a stream filled with beautiful lotuses, glistening with dew drops. Also, the neem tree is being referred to as "the fairy neem" as it is considered to be a sacred tree in Indian villages. The poem also mentions the poppy plant which is used for making herbal medicines that induce sleep. The night is described beautifully by describing the fire flies glowing in the dark and the stars shining brightly in the sky.