Childhood Poems
Duino Elegies: The Fourth Elegy
by Rainer Maria Rilke
O trees of life, oh, what when winter comes?
We are not of one mind. Are not like birds
in unison migrating. And overtaken,
overdue, we thrust ourselves into the wind
and fall to earth into indifferent ponds.
Blossoming and withering we comprehend as one.
And somewhere lions roam, quite unaware,
in their magnificence, of any weaknesss.
But we, while wholly concentrating on one thing,
......
Nostos
by Louise Gluck
There was an apple tree in the yard --
this would have been
forty years ago -- behind,
only meadows. Drifts
of crocus in the damp grass.
I stood at that window:
late April. Spring
flowers in the neighbor's yard.
How many times, really, did the tree
flower on my birthday,
......
Alone
by Edgar Allan Poe
From childhood's hour I have not been
As others were; I have not seen
As others saw; I could not bring
My passions from a common spring.
From the same source I have not taken
My sorrow; I could not awaken
My heart to joy at the same tone;
And all I loved, I loved alone.
Then- in my childhood, in the dawn
Of a most stormy life- was drawn
......
Fruit
by Nkwachukwu Ogbuagu
Less deciduous than the rest of the tropical fruits,
Almond,
Wayward Almond of parched wine of Burgundy,
You were forbidden...
The forbidden fruit of Shell Camp,
How are thy crimson mesocarps?
Traipses to Alvan never were in vain.
Clustering in cloyed versions of yielding
Balls, budding breasts of frayed boughs,
......
Mis Manos
by Humberto Gómez Sequeira-HuGóS
Mis manos
Gracias a mis manos,
puedo tocar la oscuridad
que envuelve mi conciencia
y convertirla en la luz
con que abro los espacios
donde despierto con los ojos
del niño que me enseñó a llorar.
......
Playing House
by Evelyn Judy Buehler
Orange sun is out, and we're playing house
My pets are my kids-until puss sees mouse!
Mommy loves to water her gorgeous blooms
While dog and kitty rest, inside porch rooms.
This Saturday, childhood seems left behind
When we make-believe, as the time unwinds.
Soon Mommy serves lunch-of milk and a bone;
And sandwich for herself. Jay sings alone.
Innocence
by Everleigh Blackburn
Innocence of childhood,
Pure and untouched,
Like a blank canvas,
Waiting to be painted with colors of joy.
Giggles and laughter,
Fill the air with delight,
As little feet run freely,
Chasing after dreams.
......
Pink flower
by Sarah Abdulla
My room is filled by depleting
light of the pink flower that lays so
preciously on my wall.
My mother tells me that it is there
to protect me, but how do I tell her
I am not fearful of the darkness?
But rather the soullessness place
my mind travels to, in the midst
of her absence.
Dancing in the Rain
by Bethany Burkey
As children we splashed around in puddles
And look for rainbows when the sky cleared.
Loving life and the simplicities of what made us happy.
Completely ignorant of the struggles of the world.
As we grew older, we grew bolder.
Instead of waiting for the rain to stop.
We’d simply run out the door as quickly as we could,
Smiling and holding each other’s hand.
......
Child's Play
by Sharon Morgan
A search was made to find a child
in a world that time had forgotten among the vines of growing.
Where giants roamed, and a king and queen dressed like cards
saw a land through a glass of rose tint.
Like splashes of a rainbow on a virgin canvas.
An imagination once invisible, yet new, began to play.
To find once again that long lost land, where a mind and heart ran free,
Having broken chains to cross new worlds and make insignificance itself
an adventure.
......
