Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


ORPHANS by CAROLINE AINSLIE

First Line: THE ORPHANS SLEEP IN A BIG BARE ROOM
Last Line: WHEN THE TRODDEN EARTH IS HARD.
Subject(s): ORPHANS; FOUNDLINGS;

The orphans sleep in a big bare room,
Their beds are all in rows --
And why an even space between
Not any orphan knows.

They go to walk in afternoons,
Their hats are always blue;
The little ones go hand in hand
And always two by two.

Sometimes I look beneath the brim
That shades an orphan's eyes,
And radiance that's hidden there
Gives me a fresh surprise.

It makes me think of a row of flowers
In a forgotten yard,
That push their way through cracks in the walk,
When the trodden earth is hard.



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