Poem by William Ernest Henley

Echoes. 29. A Child

         To R. L. S.

A child,
Curious and innocent,
Slips from his Nurse, and rejoicing
Loses himself in the Fair.

Thro' the jostle and din
Wandering, he revels,
Dreaming, desiring, possessing;
Till, of a sudden
Tired and afraid, he beholds
The sordid assemblage
Just as it is; and he runs
With a sob to his Nurse
(Lighting at last on him),
And in her motherly bosom
Cries him to sleep.

Thus thro' the World,
Seeing and feeling and knowing,
Goes Man: till at last,
Tired of experience, he turns
To the friendly and comforting breast
Of the old nurse, Death. 

1. In Hospital. 18. Children: Private Ward
2. In Hospital. 8. Staff-Nurse: Old Style
3. Echoes. 27. She Sauntered by the Swinging Seas
4. In Hospital. 7. Vigil
5. Beside the Idle Summer Sea

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