A Little Boy in the Morning

Francis Ledwidge 1887 (Slane) – 1917 (Boezinge)



He will not come, and still I wait.
He whistles at another gate
Where angels listen. Ah I know
He will not come, yet if I go
How shall I know he did not pass
barefooted in the flowery grass?

The moon leans on one silver horn
Above the silhouettes of morn,
And from their nest-sills finches whistle
Or stooping pluck the downy thistle.
How is the morn so gay and fair
Without his whistling in its air?
The world is calling, I must go.
How shall I know he did not pass
Barefooted in the shining grass?

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 27, 2023

30 sec read
76

Quick analysis:

Scheme aabbCc ddeeffbCc
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 507
Words 100
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 6, 9

Francis Ledwidge

Francis Edward Ledwidge was an Irish war poet from County Meath. more…

All Francis Ledwidge poems | Francis Ledwidge Books

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