Poetry Explorer


Classic and Contemporary Poetry


LITTLE BOY REALM by BURGES JOHNSON

First Line: LITTLE BOY REALM IS FAR AFIELD
Last Line: HOW THEN MAY I COME AND GO?
Subject(s): BOYS; CHILDREN; CHILDHOOD;

@3Little Boy Realm is far afield,
And blind is the road, they say;
But the King and Queen, by the power they wield,
May lead. or may bring away.@1

Kindly firm is the royal rule,
Kind are the kingly eyes;
And day by day sees gentler sway
'Neath sunny boyland skies.

But wander-spirits calling us,
Or sunbeams ling'ring fond
On some vague peak, roused us to seek
A path to the beyond.

That loving, kingly hand reached out
To shoulders, level high;
Some spark there ran, as man to man,
And boyhood's realm flew by!

Gently sweet is the gracious Queen,
Love dwells within her eyes;
And day by day she toils away
To weave some new surprise.

Her little kingdom brooks no change;
Though some may roam afar,
Its hearth-fires burn against return,
And every door's ajar.

A tired head against her knees,
Dear chidings, grave or gay,
And 'neath her hand this grown-up land
Slips suddenly away.

@3Little Boy Realm lies toward the dawn,
But the highway none may know;
And oh, if the King and Queen be gone,
How then may I come and go?@1



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