wonder

I Keep Six Honest Serving Men ~ A Poem by Rudyard Kipling

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When Curiosity Rests: Kipling’s Call to Reawaken Wonder

In six short lines, Kipling reminds us that the questions that build our world deserve more than a nine-to-five existence.

I Keep Six Honest Serving Men

Rudyard Kipling

I keep six honest serving-men
  (They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
  And How and Where and Who.
I send them over land and sea,
  I send them east and west;
But after they have worked for me,
  I give them all a rest.

I let them rest from nine till five,
  For I am busy then,
As well as breakfast, lunch, and tea,
  For they are hungry men.
But different folk have different views;
  I know a person small
She keeps ten million serving-men,
  Who get no rest at all!
She sends em abroad on her own affairs,
  From the second she opens her eyes
One million Hows, Two million Wheres,
  And seven million Whys!

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Reflection:

Kipling’s I Keep Six Honest Serving Men quietly delivers a truth we often lose as we grow: curiosity, once endless, becomes rationed. These “serving men”—What, Why, When, How, Where, and Who—once tirelessly fueled our understanding of the world. They carry the power to open doors, spark wonder, and guide discovery. Yet adulthood tames them, consigns them to office hours, giving them “rest.” Meanwhile, children—bright-eyed, untamed—keep those questions alive in ceaseless inquiry. Kipling’s poem is a small, graceful poem and a big invitation: to reclaim our born capacity to ask.

Questions to Dive Deeper:

  1. Which of the six questions do you find yourself neglecting most often, and what might it open if you invited it back into your daily thinking?
  2. How would your perspective change if you gave those questions—What, Why, When, How, Where, Who—a little “playtime” outside 9–5?
  3. Who is “the person small” in your life that keeps curiosity alive, and what lessons can you learn by watching how they ask questions?

Sure on this Shining Night ~ A Poem by James Agee

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Shadows, Stars, and Kindness: A Reflection on Agee’s Sure on This Shining Night


In James Agee’s hauntingly beautiful poem, kindness becomes our quiet guardian as we wander beneath a star-shaped sky of mystery and wonder.

Sure on this Shining Night

James Agee

Sure on this shining night
Of star made shadows round,
Kindness must watch for me
This side the ground.
The late year lies down the north.
All is healed, all is health.
High summer holds the earth.
Hearts all whole.
Sure on this shining night I weep for wonder wand’ring far
alone
Of shadows on the stars.

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📝 Reflection

James Agee’s Sure on This Shining Night reads like a prayer whispered to the universe. It blends sorrow and healing, solitude and connection. The “shining night” is more than an image of beauty—it is a moment of awe where tears of wonder remind us that even in loneliness, we are not abandoned. Agee insists that kindness watches for us “this side the ground,” affirming a faith in human compassion even as shadows lengthen. The late year symbolizes endings, yet he reassures us that “all is healed, all is health.” It is a paradox—grief and wonder, sorrow and hope, all held together in the vastness of starlight. The poem invites us to pause, weep if we must, and recognize that kindness and healing move quietly among us, even when we feel most alone.

❓ Three Questions for Deeper Reflection

  1. How does the image of a “shining night” change the way we view solitude and sorrow?
  2. What does it mean for kindness to “watch for me this side the ground”?
  3. Where in your life have you experienced tears not just of grief, but of awe and wonder?

Rising With the Early Birds

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I’m an early riser. It’s still dark out when I wander through the house opening the shutters to my windows. As soon as the soon rises, I want it to light it up. When I looked outside I saw the dark sky filled with stars. I heard the birds singing, and I was, for a moment, filled with awe and gratitude. These are precious moments when you know everything will work out. Hope your day is filled with them.

The Vision ~ A Poem by William Sharp

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The Vision

William Sharp

In a fair place
Of whin and grass,
I heard feet pass
Where no one was.

I saw a face
Bloom like a flower–
Nay, as the rainbow-shower
Of a tempestuous hour.

It was not man, or woman:
It was not human:
But, beautiful and wild,
Terribly undefiled,
I knew an unborn child.

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Only a Baby Small ~ A Poem by Matthias Barr

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Only a Baby Small

Matthias Barr

Only a baby small,
Dropped from the skies,
Only a laughing face,
Two sunny eyes;

Only two cherry lips,
One chubby nose;
Only two little hands,
Ten little toes.

Only a golden head,
Curly and soft;
Only a tongue that wags
Loudly and oft;

Only a little brain,
Empty of thought;
Only a little heart,
Troubled with naught.

Only a tender flower
Sent us to rear;
Only a life to love
While we are here;

Only a baby small,
Never at rest;
Small, but how dear to us,
God knoweth best.

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Do You Recognize Your Wonder?

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“I wish I could show you when you are lonely or in darkness the astonishing light of your own being.” ~ Hafiz

Marvel At What’s Always Been There

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“Stuff your eyes with wonder, he said, live as if you’d drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It’s more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories.” ~ Ray Bradbury

Wonder ~ A Poem by Robert W. Service

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Wonder

Robert W. Service

For failure I was well equipped
      And should have come to grief,
By atavism grimly gripped,
      A fool beyond belief.
But lo! the Lord was good to me,
      And with a heart to sing,
He gave me to a rare degree
      The Gift of Wondering.

I could not play a stalwart part
      My shoddy soul to save,
And should have gone with broken heart
      A begger to the grave;
But praise to my anointed sight
      As wandering I went,
I sang of living with delight
      In terms of Wonderment.

Aye, starry-eyed did I rejoice
      With marvel of a child,
And there were those who heard my voice
      Although my words were wild:
So as I go my wistful way,
      With worship let me sing,
A treasure to my farewell day
      God’s Gift of Wondering.

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Wonders Surround You

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“Many people lose the small joys in the hope for the big happiness.” ~ Pearl S. Buck

Today’s Poem: Dawn Song by George William A. E. Russell

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Dawn Song

George William A. E. Russell

WHILE the earth is dark and grey
How I laugh within. I know
In my breast what ardours gay
From the morning overflow.

Though the cheek be white and wet        
In my heart no fear may fall:
There my chieftain leads and yet
Ancient battle trumpets call.

Bend on me no hasty frown
If my spirit slight your cares:        
Sunlike still my joy looks down
Changing tears to beamy airs.

Think me not of fickle heart
If with joy my bosom swells
Though your ways from mine depart,        
In the true are no farewells.

What I love in you I find
Everywhere. A friend I greet
In each flower and tree and wind—
Oh, but life is sweet, is sweet!        

What to you are bolts and bars
Are to me the arms that guide
To the freedom of the stars,
Where my golden kinsmen bide.

From my mountain top I view:        
Twilight’s purple flower is gone,
And I send my song to you
On the level light of dawn.

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