A simple child ... That lightly draws its breath And feels its life in every limb, What should it know of death? WORDSWORTH. IT knows but will not tell. Awake, alone, it counts its father's years -- How few are left -- its mother's. Ah, how well It knows of death, in tears. If any of the three -- Parents and child -- believe they have prevailed To keep the secret of mortality, I know that two have failed. The third, the lonely, keeps One secret -- a child's knowledge. When they come At night to ask wherefore the sweet one weeps, Those hidden lips are dumb. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...HIS REQUEST TO JULIA by ROBERT HERRICK ASTROPHEL AND STELLA: 39 by PHILIP SIDNEY A SWING SONG by WILLIAM ALLINGHAM THE APPROACH OF LOVE by LOUIS ARAGON VACANT STALL by ELIZABETH WILCOX BEASLEY OVERTONES by CHARLES GRANGER BLANDEN EARLY AND LATE by EDMUND CHARLES BLUNDEN |