Poems of childhood

Chapter 33: AT THE DOOR

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About This Book

A collection of short lyrical poems written for and about children, blending playful nonsense, gentle lullabies, and nostalgic reminiscence. Many pieces evoke bedtime and nursery scenes, give voice to toys and animals, or imagine voyages and fairylike adventures, mixing humor with a tender melancholy. Several poems adapt or echo folk-song material, while others are brief narrative or character sketches that vary in meter and mood. Overall the verses create an intimate domestic atmosphere, inviting readers into childlike wonder through simple rhythms, vivid small-scale imagery, and affectionate observation.

AT THE DOOR

I thought myself, indeed, secure

So fast the door, so firm the lock;

But, lo! he toddling comes to lure

My parent ear with timorous knock.

My heart were stone could it withstand

The sweetness of my baby’s plea,—

That timorous, baby knocking and

“Please let me in,—it’s only me.”

I threw aside the unfinished book,

Regardless of its tempting charms,

And, opening wide the door, I took

My laughing darling in my arms.

Who knows but in Eternity,

I, like a truant child, shall wait

The glories of a life to be,

Beyond the Heavenly Father’s gate?

And will that Heavenly Father heed

The truant’s supplicating cry,

As at the outer door I plead,

“’Tis I, O Father! only I”?