The child cried out in unaffected glee. <br /> The adult smiled impassively, <br />'Tis common, they are all around, ' said he. <br />The child saw not the yellow dotted lea. <br />But deep within the yellow flower's maze, <br />Saw sunlight dancing there in golden blaze. <br />The adult, fearing lest mere childish sways <br />Should overlook a taste of nobler praise, <br /> Hastened to point out a rose. <br /> <br />The child saw tears behind the lonely eyes. <br /> The adult's shield intensifies, <br />''Tis not ours to care for every wretch that cries.' <br />The childish heart is grieved as he replies, <br />'Why is the world so filled with tears and woe? <br />Why are so many lonely heads bent low? ' <br />The adult, sure there is no need to know, <br />Though he himself had asked it long ago, <br /> Indifferently replied, 'Who knows? ' <br /> <br />The child, no longer heeding others need, <br /> Has served apprenticeship to greed. <br />The adult also knows the passing speed <br />Of years that grasp the hand and take the lead. <br />The child no longer cares for those who cry- <br />Treads down the simple flower and walks on by. <br />Alone the adult sits and wonders why, <br />Knowing somewhere a truth must justify <br /> The dandelion and the rose.<br /><br />Adeline Foster<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/of-dandelions-and-tears/
