“The Pet Lamb” – William Henry Lippincott (1849-1920)
A Child’s Pet
When I sailed out of Baltimore,
With twice a thousand head of sheep,
They would not eat, they would not drink,
But bleated o’er the deep.
Inside the pens we crawled each day
To sort the living from the dead;
And when we reached the Mersey’s mouth
Had lost five hundred head.
Yet every night and day one sheep,
That had no fear of man or sea
Stuck through the bars its pleading face,
And it was stroked by me.
And to the sheep-men standing near,
‘You see,’ I said, ‘this one tame sheep?
It seems a child has lost her pet,
And cried herself to sleep.’
So every time we passed it by
Sailing to England’s slaughterhouse,
Eight ragged sheep-men — tramps and thieves —
Would stroke that sheep’s black nose.
W.H. Davies ~ 1919
Leaves & Pages 
Wonderfully sad and hopeful and *sad* – I hadn’t read that one before – thank you!
I find it terribly sad, being a long-time keeper of sheep myself, and having had *way* too many “pet lambs” over the years. A few we managed to find an excuse for keeping, to live out their lives as placid and casually friendly mother sheep, but most of them ultimately went the way of all market lambs…
to sort living from the dead…the poem is heart-touching, sad and sympathetic
expression makes the readers thoughtful in silence.into the world of unspoken expressions.made beautifully.
the poem speaks about his life, his love and fondleness to sheep. nice wordpack. love to read repeatedly.
May I inquire where you found this image by William Henry Lippincott? I’m researching works in the first exhibition of American Paintings owned by Thomas B. Clarke. In that exhibition it bore the title “Two Good Friends” and in a later B&W reproduction was called “Childhood.” It was shown at the Paris Salon (1880); Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association (1881); National Academy of Design (1882) and the 1884 Southern Exposition in Louisville, Kentucky. Your post has the only color image of the painting and i’d love to know which book it came from. Many thanks for your time.
Bob Mueller