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A continuing selection of classic and contemporary poems.

Child

Carl Sandburg

The young child, Christ, is straight and wise
And asks questions of the old men, questions
Found under running water for all children
And found under shadows thrown on still waters
By tall trees looking downward, old and gnarled.
Found to the eyes of children alone, untold,
Singing a low song in the loneliness.
And the young child, Christ, goes on asking
And the old men answer nothing and only know love
For the young child. Christ, straight and wise.
Online text © 1998-2013 Poetry X. All rights reserved.
From Chicago Poems | Henry Holt & Company, 1916
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