In Memory of a Child
In Memory of a Child
Original Text
Vachel Lindsay, Collected Poems (New York: Macmillan, 1923): 289. Facsimile in Vachel Lindsay's Adventures, Rhymes & Designs (New York: Eakins Press, 1968): 241.
I
1The angels guide him now,2And watch his curly head,
3And lead him in their games,
4The little boy we led.
II
5He cannot come to harm,6He knows more than we know,
7His light is brighter far
8Than daytime here below.
III
9His path leads on and on,10Through pleasant lawns and flowers,
11His brown eyes open wide
12At grass more green than ours.
IV
13With playmates like himself,14The shining boy will sing,
15Exploring wondrous woods,
16Sweet with eternal spring.
18Far is his path of gold,
19Far does the city seem,
20Lonely our hearts and old.
Notes
17] The fifth stanza is only found in the original 1912 edition. Back to Line
Publication Start Year
1912
Publication Notes
Nicholas Vachel Lindsay, Rhymes to be Traded for Bread (Springfield, Illinois, June 1912)
RPO poem Editors
Ian Lancashire
RPO Edition
RPO 1998.
Rhyme