CHRISTMAS-DAYS are still in store:— Will they change—steal faded hither? Or come fresh as heretofore, Summering all our winter weather? Surely they will keep their bloom All the countless pacing ages: In the country whence they come Children only are the sages! Hither, every hour and year, Children come to cure our oldness— Oft, alas, to gather sear Unbelief, and earthy boldness! Men they grow and women cold, Selfish, passionate, and plaining! Ever faster they grow old:— On the world, ah, eld is gaining! Child, whose childhood ne'er departs! Jesus, with the perfect father! Drive the age from parents' hearts; To thy heart the children gather. Send thy birth into our souls, With its grand and tender story. Hark! the gracious thunder rolls!— News to men! to God old glory! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE CRY OF THE CHILDREN by ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING THE HERITAGE by JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL THE OLD SERGEANT by BYRON FORCEYTHE WILLSON IN WESTMINSTER ABBEY by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH BY THE SALPETRIERE by THOMAS ASHE SHELLEY'S DEATH by ALFRED AUSTIN |