Lyric Poem · Childhood

The Child's faith is new

by Emily Dickinson

The Child's faith is new —

Whole — like His Principle —

Wide — like the Sunrise

On fresh Eyes —

Never had a Doubt —

Laughs — at a Scruple —

Believes all sham

But Paradise —

Credits the World —

Deems His Dominion

Broadest of Sovereignties —

And Caesar — mean —

In the Comparison —

Baseless Emperor —

Ruler of Nought —

Yet swaying all —

Grown bye and bye

To hold mistaken

His pretty estimates

Of Prickly Things

He gains the skill

Sorrowful — as certain —

Men — to anticipate

Instead of Kings —

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“The Child's faith is new” by Emily Dickinson — quilloak.com/poems/the-childs-faith-is-new

Quick facts

Poem: The Child's faith is new
Poet: Emily Dickinson
Length: 24 lines
Form: Lyric Poem
Themes: Childhood

Craft notes

How this poem works

Measured from the text on this page, not copied from a summary. Counts are approximate: syllables and rhymes come from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary, which models General American English, so dialect, older pronunciation, and performance can all change what you hear.

Shape: 24 lines · 3 octaves
Line length: Lines run 4-6 syllables (median 5). No single length dominates, which is normal once elision and contraction are in play.

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Text, source & rights

A traceable edition

Full-text display is based on the committed source record and a United States term-expiry review.

Author record: Emily Dickinson1830–1886
Source record: PoetryDBThe Child's faith is new by emily-dickinson, PoetryDB transcription
Display decision: Full text · United States · reviewed 2026-07-18
Publication record: Not recorded in the imported source
Text fingerprint: SHA-256 83317d28307e43fc…
Editorial handling: Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.

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Lyric Poem Childhood

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