'What of the garden I gave?' <br />God said to me; <br />'Hast thou been diligent to foster and save <br />The life of flower and tree? <br />How have the roses thriven, <br />The lilies I have given, <br />The pretty scented miracles that Spring <br />And Summer come to bring? <br /> <br />'My garden is fair and dear,' <br />I said to God; <br />'From thorns and nettles I have kept it clear. <br />Green-trimmed its sod. <br />The rose is red and bright, <br />The lily a live delight; <br />I have not lost a flower of all the flowers <br />That blessed my hours.' <br /> <br />'What of the child I gave?' <br />God said to me; <br />'The little, little one I died to save <br />And gave in trust to thee? <br />How have the flowers grown <br />That in its soul were sown, <br />The lovely living miracles of youth <br />And hope and joy and truth?' <br /> <br />'The child's face is all white,' <br />I said to God; <br />'It cries for cold and hunger in the night: <br />Its little feet have trod <br />The pavement muddy and cold. <br />It has no flowers to hold, <br />And in its soul the flowers you set are dead.' <br />'Thou fool!' God said.<br /><br />Edith Nesbit<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/these-little-ones/
