Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE NEW BOY, by KATHARINE TYNAN


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE NEW BOY, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: He never knew before how heavenly the places
Last Line: He strangles with his sobs till the grey day.
Alternate Author Name(s): Hinkson, Katharine Tynan
Subject(s): Boys; Children; Grief; Loss; Orphans; Childhood; Sorrow; Sadness; Foundlings


HE never knew before how heavenly the places,
Light-loved but yesterday, the fields of his home;
Gleam to his sick eyes the lost belovèd faces,
A mirage, a water-well, where he may not come.

Dear was the white road, winding and turning,
Where his free feet ran nor knew them free.
Beacons the low house, a heaven to his yearning,
A heaven of accustomed things where he may not be.

Round the smooth cricket ground the woods, a watch keeping,
Draw a dark barrier where he may not pass.
What is work? What is play? The sad hours go creeping.
His heaven's out of reach, and none cares, alas!

His tears make a water-course; his poor cheeks grimy;
His heart hangs so heavy and his feet are lead.
Oh, what to him is Audio? And what is Eime?
Who only wants his mother's breast for his aching head.

Boys alike and masters, phantoms to his vision.
The high-class room walls the cage to the bird.
He heeds not the chill kindness nor the sly derision,
Sick for his mother's kiss, his father's word.

Far, far away, beyond those drear spaces,
Beyond the sullen hours that creep away,
Lie the deliverance, the heavenly places.
He strangles with his sobs till the grey day.





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