Hilaire Belloc

Here you will find the Poem On The Gift Of A Book To A Child of poet Hilaire Belloc

On The Gift Of A Book To A Child

Child! do not throw this book about! 
Refrain from the unholy pleasure 
Of cutting all the pictures out! 
Preserve it as your chiefest treasure. 

Child, have you never heard it said 
That you are heir to all the ages? 
Why, then, your hands were never made 
To tear these beautiful thick pages! 

Your little hands were made to take 
The better things and leave the worse ones: 
They also may be used to shake 
The Massive Paws of Elder Persons. 

And when your prayers complete the day, 
Darling, your little tiny hands 
Were also made, I think, to pray 
For men that lose their fairylands.