The Trusting Young

The Trusting Young written by William Henry Davies

From "Farewell to Poesy", 1910

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Ah, little bird, thou art not old;
Thou knowest no danger in this world,
So full of trust. Like all young things.
A child knows not the adder stings;
Adders are lovely worms to it;
Tigers would be big cats to pet,
And bears be bigger dogs to love.
But future days too soon will prove
To every child and bird, life’s state
Divides itself with love and hate.
So, when I see thee come so near
And, though I threaten, take no fear,
I think of days when thou wilt find
As many cruel things as kind.
All trusting young things come to this;
Look how a loving child would kiss
The civil landlord that did come
To turn it out of house and home;
Nor guessed her mother’s look of grief
Was through that law-supported thief.

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