To Any Reader

Robert Louis Stevenson 1850 (Edinburgh) – 1894 (Vailima, Samoa)



As from the house your mother sees
You playing round the garden trees,
So you may see, if you will look
Through the windows of this book,
Another child, far, far away,
And in another garden, play.
But do not think you can at all,
By knocking on the window, call
That child to hear you. He intent
Is all on his play-business bent.
He does not hear; he will not look,
Nor yet be lured out of this book.
For, long ago, the truth to say,
He has grown up and gone away,
And it is but a child of air
That lingers in the garden there.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

33 sec read
136

Quick analysis:

Scheme AABBCCDDEEBBCCFF
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 520
Words 110
Stanzas 1
Stanza Lengths 16

Robert Louis Stevenson

Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist, and travel writer. more…

All Robert Louis Stevenson poems | Robert Louis Stevenson Books

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