The Little Children
Francis Ledwidge 1887 (Slane) – 1917 (Boezinge)
Hunger points a bony finger
To the workhouse on the hill,
But the little children linger
While there's flowers to gather still
For my sunny window sill.
In my hands I take their faces,
Smiling to my smiles they run.
Would that I could take their places
Where the murky bye-ways shun
The benedictions of the sun
How they laugh and sing returning
Lightly on their secret way.
While I listen in my yearning
Their laughter fills the windy day
With gladness, youth and May.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 14, 2023
- 26 sec read
- 432 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABABB CDCDD EFEFF |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 462 |
Words | 87 |
Stanzas | 3 |
Stanza Lengths | 5, 5, 5 |
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"The Little Children" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/13835/the-little-children>.
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