The Poetical Works of George Barlow In Ten [Eleven] Volumes |
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THE CHILD
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| IX. |
| X. |
| XI. |
 | The Poetical Works of George Barlow |  |
13
THE CHILD
Before the child the world expands,
And dreams of green or sunny lands
Float in upon his soul from space.
Each child upon the planet born
Brings back that planet's early morn
In the sweet sunrise of his face.
And dreams of green or sunny lands
Float in upon his soul from space.
Each child upon the planet born
Brings back that planet's early morn
In the sweet sunrise of his face.
The world for each is recreate,
And each may meet and conquer Fate,
And mould his life to woe or weal.
For each the sea again is blue:
For each the mountain-summits new;
For each the morning bugles peal.
And each may meet and conquer Fate,
And mould his life to woe or weal.
For each the sea again is blue:
For each the mountain-summits new;
For each the morning bugles peal.
For each God sheds his glory again
On hill and dell and lake and plain:
To each he brings his flowers anew.
He paints for each the lily white,
And hangs with lamps the dome of night,
And paints the sky's great ceiling blue.
On hill and dell and lake and plain:
To each he brings his flowers anew.
He paints for each the lily white,
And hangs with lamps the dome of night,
And paints the sky's great ceiling blue.
14
Aye, through the heart of every child
Flows somewhat of the rapture wild
Which Adam felt, when first aware
At nightfall of the starry deep
From which the Lord God watched the sleep
Of flowers that bloomed in Eden's air.
Flows somewhat of the rapture wild
Which Adam felt, when first aware
At nightfall of the starry deep
From which the Lord God watched the sleep
Of flowers that bloomed in Eden's air.
In every child the race resumes
Its youth. Among the garden blooms
The young child wanders forth. It sees
With sinless eyes the snowdrop white;
The cornfield's blaze of golden light;
The round-head red anemones.
Its youth. Among the garden blooms
The young child wanders forth. It sees
With sinless eyes the snowdrop white;
The cornfield's blaze of golden light;
The round-head red anemones.
All is so new, all is so sweet.
The cold is glad, and glad the heat:
The wintry ice brings pleasant dreams.
What if the winds of winter roar?
Down to the pond the skaters pour:
They skate, till out the pale moon gleams.
The cold is glad, and glad the heat:
The wintry ice brings pleasant dreams.
What if the winds of winter roar?
Down to the pond the skaters pour:
They skate, till out the pale moon gleams.
Nature has lessons for the man:
With other eyes he learns to scan
The mountains, and the heights of space.
But never colour gleams so fair
As sunset hues in soft June air
Upon an upturned boyish face.
With other eyes he learns to scan
The mountains, and the heights of space.
15
As sunset hues in soft June air
Upon an upturned boyish face.
From out the air, within the sea,
The radiant sense of joys to be
Speaks to the boy's heart, or the child's.
The red-eyed roach, the banded perch:
The white trunk of the silver birch:
The purple heather of the wilds:
The radiant sense of joys to be
Speaks to the boy's heart, or the child's.
The red-eyed roach, the banded perch:
The white trunk of the silver birch:
The purple heather of the wilds:
The spotted trout, that flashes down
Along the ripples golden-brown
Of the fern-bordered mountain-stream:
The woods, alive with cawing rooks:
The deep-blue weeded river-nooks
Where lie the barbel and the bream:
Along the ripples golden-brown
Of the fern-bordered mountain-stream:
The woods, alive with cawing rooks:
The deep-blue weeded river-nooks
Where lie the barbel and the bream:
The butterflies, white, yellow, blue,
That haunt the woods, or flutter through
The clover-fields beside the sea:
The beetles flashing one by one
Across the gravel in the sun:
The azure sky's infinity:
That haunt the woods, or flutter through
The clover-fields beside the sea:
The beetles flashing one by one
Across the gravel in the sun:
The azure sky's infinity:
16
All gather depth of meaning strange
From the boy's heart.—All shift and change
Their meaning with the growing years.
The whole of Nature seems to wait
On mankind; changes with his state,
And shares his hopes and shares his fears.
From the boy's heart.—All shift and change
Their meaning with the growing years.
The whole of Nature seems to wait
On mankind; changes with his state,
And shares his hopes and shares his fears.
From out the air a message speaks
That flushes through the boy's bright cheeks;
The gates of wonder never close.
God whispers through the nights of June
Of something lovelier than the moon,
And something sweeter than the rose.
That flushes through the boy's bright cheeks;
The gates of wonder never close.
God whispers through the nights of June
Of something lovelier than the moon,
And something sweeter than the rose.
| The Poetical Works of George Barlow | |