LEST Heaven be thronged with grey-beards hoary, God, who made boys for His delight, Stoops in a day of grief and glory And calls them in, in from the night. When they come trooping from the war Our skies have many a young new star. Heaven's thronged with gay and careless faces, New-waked from dreams of dreadful things, They walk in green and pleasant places And by the crystal water-springs, Who dreamt of dying and the slain, And the fierce thirst and the strong pain. Dear boys! They shall be young for ever. The Son of God was once a boy. They run and leap by a clear river And of their youth they have great joy. God who made boys so clean and good Smiles with the eyes of fatherhood. Now Heaven is by the young invaded; Their laughter's in the House of God. Stainless and simple as He made it, God keeps the heart o' the boy unflawed. The old wise Saints look on and smile, They are so young and without guile. Oh, if the sonless mothers weeping, And widowed girls, could look inside The glory that hath them in keeping Who went to the Great War and died, They would rise and put their mourning off, And say: "Thank God, he has enough!" | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...TRAFALGAR SQUARE by ROBERT SEYMOUR BRIDGES A SERMON AT CLEVEDON; GOOD FRIDAY by THOMAS EDWARD BROWN THE NATIONAL PAINTINGS: COL. TRUMBULL'S 'THE DECLARATION...' by FITZ-GREENE HALLECK A SOLDIER'S GRAVE by JOHN ALBEE THE GHOST OF ABEL; A RELATION IN THE VISIONS OF JEHOVAH by WILLIAM BLAKE |