Tender-heartedness

BY HARRY GRAHAM

Billy, in one of his nice new sashes,

Fell in the fire and was burned to ashes;

Now, although the room grows chilly,

I haven’t the heart to poke poor Billy.

Harry Graham, “Tender-heartedness” from The Random House Book of Poetry for Children, edited by Jack Prelutsky (New York: Random House, 1983). Reprinted with the permission of Laura Dance.

Source: The Random House Book of Poetry for Children (1983)