Little Willie

"Little Willie" by Eugene Field, is a light-hearted poem that looks back at the experiences of raising a cheeky young boy named Willie. The poem shows a parent's enduring love and the patience required when dealing with a child's misbehavior, like Willie's playful pranks and accidents. It captures special moments of affection and the hard parts of being a parent with warmth and longing. Later, the poem shows Willie growing up and repeating the same antics with his own kids, reflecting the cycles of family life. The poem expresses, with amusement, that the narrator would always choose the simple, loving presence of little Willie over anything else, celebrating the ups and downs of parenthood.