 | Judas Iscariot |  |
56
THE KITE.
In a field
Where no shrub
Earth could yield
Man or grub;
Where no grass
Could be seen,
Goose or ass—
Leaf of green;
But all black
As a stack
Of old bean;
A collier boy, who drudged all day and night,
One Sunday slipt away from school, and flew a paper kite.
Where no shrub
Earth could yield
Man or grub;
Where no grass
Could be seen,
Goose or ass—
Leaf of green;
But all black
As a stack
Of old bean;
A collier boy, who drudged all day and night,
One Sunday slipt away from school, and flew a paper kite.
O'er grey cinder
And coal dust,
Ash and tinder
And iron rust;
O'er black holes
Of old shafts,
Wheels and rolls—
Engine crafts,
The kite flies
Tow'rd the skies,
And they seem
A sweet dream
To his eyes:
The boy found out he had a soul—not like his hands and tools!
It never rose so high before, in any Sunday schools.
And coal dust,
Ash and tinder
And iron rust;
O'er black holes
Of old shafts,
Wheels and rolls—
Engine crafts,
The kite flies
Tow'rd the skies,
And they seem
A sweet dream
To his eyes:
The boy found out he had a soul—not like his hands and tools!
It never rose so high before, in any Sunday schools.
57
The boy's heart
Grew more light
At each start
Of the kite;
He ran hither—
It pull'd tight—
And thither,
Till his sight
Fixt above,
Dreamt of love
And wings white;
And to heaven
It was given
While 'twas bright;
For down a shaft he fell! down—down—O, do not look!
And good folks drew the moral—“'Twas because he left his book!”
Grew more light
At each start
Of the kite;
He ran hither—
It pull'd tight—
And thither,
Till his sight
Fixt above,
Dreamt of love
And wings white;
And to heaven
It was given
While 'twas bright;
For down a shaft he fell! down—down—O, do not look!
And good folks drew the moral—“'Twas because he left his book!”
Bilston, 1841.
| Judas Iscariot | |