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Charles Kingsley (1819-1875)
from The Water Babies
WHEN all the world is young, lad,
And all the trees are green ;
And every goose a swan, lad,
And every lass a queen ;
Then hey for boot and horse, lad,
And round the world away ;
Young blood must have its course, lad,
And every dog his day.
When all the world is old, lad,
And all the trees are brown ;
And all the sport is stale, lad,
And all the wheels run down ;
Creep home, and take your place there,
The spent and maimed among :
God grant you find one face there,
You loved when all was young.
Often given under the title Young and Old, the above poem appear at the end of
Chapter II of Kingsley's The Water Babies. It can be found in:
Kingsley, Charles. The Works. Volume I. London: Macmillan and Co., 1884. (as found in the
facsimile edition printed by Hildesesheim, Germany: Georg Olms Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1968.)
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