Classic Poem

“O Father, let us go
And gather flowers,” cry
My little ones who love me so,
Whose lips forever “want to know”
And hearts still “wonder why:”

Like birds they hover and fly
Where the wild flowers quiver and glow
In the tremulous springtide ecstasy,
And the glimmering sunbeams “want to know,”
And the shadows “wonder why.”

O Christ, who loved them so,
When they, with glances shy,
Crept ever closer long ago
To Thee, with wide-eyed “want to know”
And wistful “wonder why,”

Still let them dreaming lie
Close in thy heart, and Oh!
When they at last awake—to die,
Fulfil their yearning “want to know”
And silent “wonder why.”