After his conversion to Catholicism, Kilmer attempted to model his poetry upon that of Coventry Patmore and the 17th-century Metaphysical poets. Its immediate and continued popularity has been attributed to its combination of sentiment and simple philosophy. Kilmer joined the staff of The New York Times in 1913. In 1917 he edited Dreams and Images, an anthology of modern Catholic poetry. Kilmer was killed in action during World War I and was posthumously awarded the Croix de Guerre.
Many people make that mistake.
Feel free to e-mail me back if you want to. It was my favorite poem as a child. It tells more about God and the Universe in a few lines than philosophers can tell in volumes. The poem is like a childhood friend, lost from thought sometimes, but never forgotten. It doesn't matter that it's trite.