The Soul of a Child

(A poem by George Bailey)


The soul of a child is the lovliest flower
That grows in the garden of God.
It climbs from weakness to knowledge and power
To the sky from the clay and the clod.

To beauty and sweetness it grows under care,
Neglected 'tis ragged and wild;
'Tis a plant that is tender and wondrously rare,
The sweet wistful soul fo a child.

Be tender, O gardner, and give it its share
Of moisture, of warmth and of light;
And let it not lack for painstaking care
To protect it from frost and from blight.

A glad day shall come when its bloom shall unfold;
It will seem that an angel has smiled,
Reflecting a beauty and sweetness untold,
In the sensitive soul of a child.

In the breast of a bulb is a promise of Spring,
In the little blue egg is a bird that will sing;
In the soul of the seed is the hope of the sod,
In the soul of a child, is the Kingdom of God.