The Little Man

The Little Man written by William Henry Davies

From "Songs of Joy", 1911

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Last night I sat in thought,
When, near my bended head,
I saw a little man,
And this is what he said:
"Of all the eyes and ears
That in this great world be,
There's not one eye or ear
Takes any note of thee."

"Peace, hold thy froward tongue,
Thou mocking Imp," said I;
"Joy, that is man's true aim,
Until the hour we die;
A dream that gives us joy,
Though vain, is our sweet friend:
Man's deeds are but vain dreams
That soon must have an end."

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