Children at Play

Children at Play written by William Henry Davies

From "Foliage", 1913

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I hear a merry noise indeed:
  Is it the geese and ducks that take
Their first plunge in a quiet pond
  That into scores of ripples break —
Or children make this merry sound?

I see an oak tree, its strong back
  Could not be bent an inch though all
Its leaves were stone, or iron even:
  A boy, with many a lusty call,
Rides on a bough bareback through Heaven.

I see two children dig a hole
  And plant in it a cherry-stone:
"We'll come to-morrow," one child said —
  "And then the tree will be full grown,
And all its boughs have cherries red."

Ah, children, what a life to lead:
  You love the flowers, but when they're past
No flowers are missed by your bright eyes;
  And when cold winter comes at last,
Snowflakes shall be your butterflies.

This work is in the public domain in countries where the copyright term is the author's life plus 70 years or less.