Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, CHILDREN AT PLAY, by WILLIAM HENRY DAVIES


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

CHILDREN AT PLAY, by                 Poet Analysis    
First Line: I hear a merry noise indeed
Last Line: Snowflakes shall be your butterflies.
Alternate Author Name(s): Davies, W. H.
Subject(s): Children; Play; Childhood


I HEAR a merry noise indeed:
Is it the geese and ducks that take
Their first plunge in a quiet pond
That into scores of ripples break --
Or children make this merry sound?

I see an oak tree, its strong back
Could not be bent an inch, though all
Its leaves were stone, or iron even:
A boy, with many a lusty call,
Rides on a bough bareback through Heaven.

I see two children dig a hole
And plant in it a cherry-stone:
"We'll come to-morrow," one child said --
"And then the tree will be full-grown,
And all its boughs have cherries red."

Ah, children, what a life to lead:
You love the flowers, but when they're past
No flowers are missed by your bright eyes;
And when cold winter comes at last,
Snowflakes shall be your butterflies.





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