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
431

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABABB CDCDD EFEFF
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 462
Words 87
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 5, 5, 5

Francis Ledwidge

Francis Edward Ledwidge was an Irish war poet from County Meath. more…

All Francis Ledwidge poems | Francis Ledwidge Books

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