| William Stanley Braithwaite, ed. (1878–1962). Anthology of Magazine Verse for 1920. 1920. |
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| The Road to Babylon |
| | | Margaret Adelaide Wilson |
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| “HOW far is it to Babylon? | |
| —Threescore miles and ten. | |
| Can I get there by candle-light? | |
| Yes, and back again.” | |
| And while nurse hummed the old, old rhyme, | 5 |
| Tucking him in at evening time, | |
| He dreamed how when he grew a man | |
| And travelled free, as big men can, | |
| He’d slip out through the garden gate | |
| To roads where high adventures wait | 10 |
| And find the way to Babylon, | |
| Babylon, far Babylon, | |
| All silver-towered in the sun! | |
| He’s travelled free, a man with men; | |
| (Bitter the scores of miles and ten!) | 15 |
| And now face down by Babylon’s wall | |
| He sleeps, nor any more at all | |
| By morning, noon or candle-light | |
| Or in the wistful summer night | |
| To his own garden gate he’ll come. | 20 |
| —Young feet that fretted so to roam | |
Have missed the road returning home.
Scribner’s Magazine | |
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