Childhood Poems
The Mores
by John Clare
Far spread the moorey ground a level scene
Bespread with rush and one eternal green
That never felt the rage of blundering plough
Though centurys wreathed spring's blossoms on its brow
Still meeting plains that stretched them far away
In uncheckt shadows of green brown, and grey
Unbounded freedom ruled the wandering scene
Nor fence of ownership crept in between
To hide the prospect of the following eye
Its only bondage was the circling sky
......
The Fortune-Favored
by Friedrich Schiller
Ah! happy he, upon whose birth each god
Looks down in love, whose earliest sleep the bright
Idalia cradles, whose young lips the rod
Of eloquent Hermes kindles--to whose eyes,
Scarce wakened yet, Apollo steals in light,
While on imperial brows Jove sets the seal of might!
Godlike the lot ordained for him to share,
He wins the garland ere he runs the race;
He learns life's wisdom ere he knows life's care,
And, without labor vanquished, smiles the grace.
......
Home
by Zbigniew Herbert
A home above the year's seasons
home of children animals and apples
a square of empty space
under an absent star
home was the telescope of childhood
the skin of emotion
a sister's cheek
branch of a tree
......
Duino Elegies: The Fourth Elegy
by Rainer Maria Rilke
O trees of life, oh, what when winter comes?
We are not of one mind. Are not like birds
in unison migrating. And overtaken,
overdue, we thrust ourselves into the wind
and fall to earth into indifferent ponds.
Blossoming and withering we comprehend as one.
And somewhere lions roam, quite unaware,
in their magnificence, of any weaknesss.
But we, while wholly concentrating on one thing,
......
You Can'T Have It All
by Barbara Ras
But you can have the fig tree and its fat leaves like clown hands
gloved with green. You can have the touch of a single eleven-year-old finger
on your cheek, waking you at one a.m. to say the hamster is back.
You can have the purr of the cat and the soulful look
of the black dog, the look that says, If I could I would bite
every sorrow until it fled, and when it is August,
you can have it August and abundantly so. You can have love,
though often it will be mysterious, like the white foam
that bubbles up at the top of the bean pot over the red kidneys
until you realize foam's twin is blood.
......
Childhood Reveries
by Advik Saxena
In fields of gold beneath the summer sun,
Where laughter danced and time was never done,
We chased the butterflies in endless flight,
And dreams took wing on fleeting rays of light.
Through woods alive with whispers soft and kind,
Where secrets bloomed like flowers in the mind,
We built our castles in the morning dew,
And every wish we had, we found was true.
......
Playing House
by Evelyn Judy Buehler
Orange sun is out, and we're playing house
My pets are my kids-until puss sees mouse!
Mommy loves to water her gorgeous blooms
While dog and kitty rest, inside porch rooms.
This Saturday, childhood seems left behind
When we make-believe, as the time unwinds.
Soon Mommy serves lunch-of milk and a bone;
And sandwich for herself. Jay sings alone.
Innocence
by Everleigh Blackburn
Innocence of childhood,
Pure and untouched,
Like a blank canvas,
Waiting to be painted with colors of joy.
Giggles and laughter,
Fill the air with delight,
As little feet run freely,
Chasing after dreams.
......
Pink flower
by Sarah Abdulla
My room is filled by depleting
light of the pink flower that lays so
preciously on my wall.
My mother tells me that it is there
to protect me, but how do I tell her
I am not fearful of the darkness?
But rather the soullessness place
my mind travels to, in the midst
of her absence.
Dancing in the Rain
by Bethany Burkey
As children we splashed around in puddles
And look for rainbows when the sky cleared.
Loving life and the simplicities of what made us happy.
Completely ignorant of the struggles of the world.
As we grew older, we grew bolder.
Instead of waiting for the rain to stop.
We’d simply run out the door as quickly as we could,
Smiling and holding each other’s hand.
......
