<html xmlns:tei="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/1.0"><body><h1 align="center" class="head">The Heart of a Boy</h1><h1 align="center" class="head"><em>To Mrs. Guy Wyndham</em></h1><div class="stanza"><p class="line"><span class="smallcaps">The</span> heart of a boy is full of light,</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">Naked of self, quite pure and clean,</p><p class="line">No shadows lurk in it: it is bright</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">Where God Himself hath been.</p></div><div class="stanza"><p class="line">I looked in a boy's heart and saw</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">How its desire was white desire,</p><p class="line">Burning upward, as winds might draw</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">The flame of a candle higher.</p></div><div class="stanza"><p class="line">What was the heart's desire that burned</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">Like a white candle stirred in a breeze?</p><p class="line">Power or glory or honour earned?</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">Love that is more than these?</p></div><div class="stanza"><p class="line">The heart of a boy has but one goal.</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">The flying Danger smiles as she flies,</p><p class="line">Makes her own of him, heart and soul,</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">With the lure of her lovely eyes.</p></div><div class="stanza"><p class="line">The boy's heart now is set on a star,</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">A sword for the weak against the strong,</p><p class="line">A young knight riding forth to the War</p><p class="line" style="text-indent:5%">Who dies to right the wrong.</p></div></body></html> · Great War