To the Children
O children, open your arms to me,
Let your hair fall over my eyes;
Let me sleep a moment and then awake
in your garden of sweet surprise!For the grownup folk are a wearisome folk,
And they laugh all my fancies to scorn,
The grownup folk are a wearisome folk,
And they laugh all my fancies to scorn,
They laugh all my fancies to scorn.O children, open your hearts to me,
And tell me your wonder-thoughts.
Who lives in the palace inside your brain?
Who plays in its outer courts?Who hides in the hours tomorrow holds?
Who sleeps in your yesterdays?
Who tiptoes along past the curtained folds
Of the shadow that twilight lays?O children, open your eyes to me,
And tell me your visions too;
Who squeezes the sponge when the salt tears flow
To dim their magical blue?Who brushes the fringe of their lace-veined lids?
Who trims their innocent light?
Who draws up the blinds when the sun peeps in?
Who fastens them down at night?O children, I pray you speak low to me,
And cover my eyes with your hands.
O kiss me again till I sleep and dream
That I’m lost in your Fairylands;
That I’m lost in your Fairylands.For the grownup folk are a troublesome folk,
And the book of their childhood is torn!
Is blotted, and crumpled, and torn!
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1929.
The longest-living author of this work died in 1951, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 72 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.
Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse