Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, REVISITING, by BURGES JOHNSON


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

REVISITING, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: If one clear road you cannot find
Last Line: The rising turmoil in your breast.
Subject(s): Change; Childhood Memories; Past


If one clear road you cannot find,
Since they two laid their scepters down,
Some fainter paths there are that wind
Through valleys to a far-off town,
Where many dear-remembered things
Call childhood back on certain wings.

That wall you climbed with all your might,
The while you tore your stocking knees,
Has shrunk to such a puny height
You mount upon its crest with ease.
The tree that was too thick to "shin"
By some odd means has gotten thin.

That vast expanse you scanned with care,
Then crossed with frightened hurrying feet
Lest traffic overtake you there,
Is now a quiet village street.
Each doorway wide and gatepost high
Seem smaller to your startled eye.

Old friends that pass look up to smile,
Who used to greet you smiling down;
A magic spell, in this long while,
Has somehow fallen on the town.
Yet strange! You seem to be again
As small a boy as you were then.

The little tree that once was tall,
The quiet street that stirred your fears;
Your little boyhood's kingdom small
Have drawn you backward through the years.
And some old teacher's kindly tone
Belies his words—"How you have grown!"

The winding path to boyhood days
Is sometimes very hard to find;
And yet you trod it when your gaze
Survey old scenes long left behind.
While strangers, passing, never guessed
The rising turmoil in your breast.




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