THE UNIVERSE
I HEARD a little child beneath the stars
Talk as he ran along
To some sweet riddle in his mind that seemed
A-tiptoe into song.
In his dark eyes lay a wild universe, —
Wild forests, peaks, and crests;
Angels and fairies, giants, wolves and he
Were that world's only guests.
Elsewhere was home and mother, his warm bed: —
Now, only God alone
Could, armed with all His power and wisdom, make
Earths richer than his own.
O Man! — thy dreams, thy passions, hopes, desires! —
He in his pity keep
A homely bed where love may lull a child's
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1927.
The author died in 1956, so this work is also in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 60 years or less. This work may also 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.