| George William (“A. E.”) Russell (1867–1935). Collected Poems by A.E. 1913. |
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| 33. Childhood |
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| HOW I could see through and through you! | |
| So unconscious, tender, kind, | |
| More than ever was known to you | |
| Of the pure ways of your mind. | |
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| We who long to rest from strife | 5 |
| Labour sternly as a duty; | |
| But a magic in your life | |
| Charms, unknowing of its beauty. | |
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| We are pools whose depths are told; | |
| You are like a mystic fountain, | 10 |
| Issuing ever pure and cold | |
| From the hollows of the mountain. | |
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| We are men by anguish taught | |
| To distinguish false from true; | |
| Higher wisdom we have not; | 15 |
| But a joy within guides you. | |
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