These short poems about children focus on how special each child is. They will remind you of the joy that children bring into our lives.
It was once said that "a baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer,
bankroll smaller, home happier, clothes shabbier, the past
forgotten, and the future worth living for." These words are so true!
These are great poems to share with others. Or to use in congratulations or shower
cards.
When I go home this welcome waits
Each evening when the day is fled;
The pattering of little feet,
Then clinging arms and kisses sweet,
From Rosy-cheek and Curly -head.
They come with shouts of rioting;
They're laughing so they scarce can speak!
O pair of highwaymen are they;
And I an easy-yielding prey
To Curly-head and Rosy-cheek.
But curly heads will sometimes ache,
And fill our souls with sudden dread;
And roses fade while hearts stand still.
O, may there come no touch of ill
To Rosy-cheek and Curly-head!
God bless all little cheeks of rose!
Where'er they bloom, they sunlight shed.
Bless little heads of rippling hair!
O, take into Thy tender care
Each Rosy-cheek and Curly-head!
We talk to them when they're asleep -
These tiny objects of our love!
We murmur to them while we weep
And call them each our treasure trove.
We talk to them when they're asleep -
Oh, wayward children that they are! -
And hope that always we may keep
Their feet from straying into far
And thorn-girt paths beset with sin -
That they may never, never reap
Such harvesting as ours has been -
We talk to them when they're asleep.
Now do not bust right out and weep,
Or let your cheeks with teardrops glisten;
We talk to them when they're asleep
'Cause that's the only time they'll listen.
The heart of a child,
Like the heart of a flower,
Has a smile for the sun
And a tear for the shower:
Oh, innocent hours
With wonder beguiled
Oh, heart like a flower's
In the heart of a child!
The heart of a child,
Like the heart of a bird,
With raptures of music
Is flooded and stirred;
Oh, songs without words,
Oh, melodies wild
Oh, heart like a bird's
In the heart of a child!
The heart of a child,
Like the heart of the Spring,
Is full of the hope
Of what Summer shall bring:
Oh, glory of things
In a world undefiled
Oh, heart like the Spring's
In the heart of a child!
When you first teach a child to understand
Work means the loving heart and helping hand;
When you first teach a youth to read and write
You give the key to a lifelong delight.
Who adds the charm of music to his days
Attunes his soul to melody and praise.
Who studies art enters the court serene,
The enchanted land where Nature reigns a queen.
Who loves all beauty doth a poet grow,
And wins the highest joy that mortals know.
The Children by Charles Dickens
Oh, my heart grows weak as a woman's,
And the fountains of feeling will flow,
When I think of the paths steep and stony
Where the feet of the dear ones must go.
Of the mountains of sin hanging o'er them,
Of the tempest of Fate blowing wild;
Oh, there is nothing on earth so holy
As the innocent heart of a child!
They are idols of hearts and of households,
They are angels of God in disguise;
His sunlight still sleeps in their tresses,
His glory still gleams in their eyes;
Oh, those truants from home and from heaven,
They have made me more manly and mild!
And I know how Jesus could liken
The kingdom of God to a child.
I ask not for the dear ones,
All radiant, as others have done.
But that life may have just enough shadow
To temper the glare of the sun;
I would pray God to guard them from evil
But my prayer would bound back to myself;
Ah! a seraph may pray for a sinner,
But a sinner must pray for himself.
The twig is so easily bended,
I have banished the rule and the rod,
I have taught them the goodness of knowledge,
They have taught me the goodness of God;
My heart is a dungeon of darkness,
Where I shut them from breaking a rule;
My frown is sufficient correction;
My love is the law of the school.
I shall leave the old house in the Autumn,
To traverse the threshold no more;
Ah! how I shall sigh for the dear ones
That meet me each morning at the door!
I shall miss the "good-nights " and the kisses
And the gush of their innocent glee,
The group on the green, and the flowers
That are brought every morning to me.
I shall miss them at morning and at evening,
Their song in the school and the street;
I shall miss the low hum of their voices,
And the tramp of their delicate feet.
When the lessons and tasks are all ended,
And death says, "The school is dismissed!"
May the little ones gather around me,
To bid me good-night and be kissed.
Beneath the moon's warm glow, with hearts alight,
Children dance on waves of pure delight.
Oh, anticipation fills the air!
Christmas whispers cling to every prayer.
In twinkling eyes, dreams gleam so bright,
Pitter-patter feet treading through the night.
On best behavior, they wait, oh how they sway,
For Christmas morn to finally hold its sway.
"They tie you down," a woman said,
Whose cheeks should have been flaming red
With shame to speak of children so.
"When babies come you cannot go
In search of pleasure with your friends
And all your happy wandering ends.
The things you like you cannot do
For babies make a slave of you."
I looked at her and said : "'Tis true
That children make a slave of you,
And tie you down with many a knot,
But have you never thought to what
It is of happiness and pride
That little babies have you tied?
Do you not miss the greater joys
That come with little girls and boys?
"They tie you down to laughter rare,
To hours of smiles and hours of care,
To nights of watching and to fears,
Sometimes they tie you down to tears
And then repay you with a smile
And make your trouble all worth while.
They tie you fast to chubby feet
And cheeks of pink and kisses sweet.
"They fasten you with cords of love
To God divine who reigns above.
They tie you, whereso'er you roam
Unto the little place called home,
And over sea or railroad track
They tug at you to bring you back.
The happiest people in the town
Are those the babies have tied down.
"Oh, go your selfish way and free
But hampered I would rather be,
Yes, rather than a kingly crown
I would be, what you term, tied down;
Tied down to dancing eyes and charms,
Held fast by chubby, dimpled arms,
The fettered slave of girl and boy,
And win from them earth's finest joy."
Oh! the blessed and wise little children,
What sensible things they say!
When they can't have the things they wish for,
They take others and cry, "Let's play!"
Oh! the blessed and wise little children,
What sensible things they say!
And we might be as happy as they are,
If we would be happy this way.
What odds, 'twixt not having and having,
When we have lived out our day:
Let us borrow the children's watchword -
The magical watchword, "Let's play!"
In shadows cast by shimmering moonlight’s glow,
Children’s hearts leap, ready to mix and mow.
With gusto, they rummage through wardrobes with glee,
Imaginations soaring, costumes set free.
Trick or treat, their sweet refrain fills the air,
Laughter and candy swirling in starlit lair.
They wait for this moment the whole year round,
Oh, the joy it brings when Halloween is found!
The path o' little children —
there peaceful dreams come true,
There sunshine's always streaming
and every sky is blue,
There each one loves the other,
and every one is fair,
And cheeks are pink with beauty,
and singing fills the air.
Never underestimate the happiness and the love that a child will bring
into the lives of others. A child gives love and the love we feel for a child of our own is unconditional. A well-known saying says it all: "A baby is a bit of stardust blown from the hand of God". Share these poems with others who may enjoy
reading what a child is!