I Will Not Let You Depart

This was one of my Papaw’s favorite poems. I have fond memories of him reciting this on his back porch, tearing up and recalling his own little children and their sneak attacks. It’s also a vision close to my heart. For the deep joy of a loving connection to my own kids is one of the greatest joys of life. I imagine it’s the same for you. -Sam

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The Children’s Hour
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Between the dark and the daylight,
When the night is beginning to lower,
Comes a pause in the day’s occupations,
That is known as the Children’s Hour.

I hear in the chamber above me
The patter of little feet,
The sound of a door that is opened,
And voices soft and sweet.

From my study I see in the lamplight,
Descending the broad hall stair,
Grave Alice, and laughing Allegra,
And Edith with golden hair.

A whisper, and then a silence:
Yet I know by their merry eyes
They are plotting and planning together
To take me by surprise.

A sudden rush from the stairway,
A sudden raid from the hall!
By three doors left unguarded
They enter my castle wall!

They climb up into my turret
O’er the arms and back of my chair;
If I try to escape, they surround me;
They seem to be everywhere.

They almost devour me with kisses,
Their arms about me entwine,
Till I think of the Bishop of Bingen
In his Mouse-Tower on the Rhine!

Do you think, O blue-eyed banditti,
Because you have scaled the wall,
Such an old mustache as I am
Is not a match for you all!

I have you fast in my fortress,
And will not let you depart,
But put you down into the dungeon
In the round-tower of my heart.

And there will I keep you forever,
Yes, forever and a day,
Till the walls shall crumble to ruin,
And moulder in dust away!

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S. D. Smith

S. D. Smith is an author, a lover of chocolate chip cookies, and a founder of Story Warren. Sam was born and raised in West Virginia, lived in South Africa as a teenager, and returned to West Virginia for his (so-far) extensive adulthood. Sam and his beloved wife, Gina, have four children, two of whom have embarked on adulthood themselves. It was at their home in the Appalachian hills where he told his children many stories, including some featuring heroic rabbits with swords. These later became the Green Ember Series, a now-popular work of moral imagination that has delighted millions around the globe. Sam is a devoted Christian, a lifelong Mountaineer fan, and an enthusiast of sports, books, and humorous things.

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