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A MOTHER’S SOLILOQUY.
You soft, pink, moving thing! Young limbs that crave Motion as free as zephyr-lifted wave; Uneasy with the push of unlearned powers! Exploring slowly through half-conscious hours; With what rich new surprise and joy you feel Your own will move yourself from head to heel! So, let me swaddle you in bandage tight, Dress you in wide, confining folds of white, Cover you warmly, hold you close, and so A mother’s instinct-guided love I’ll show! Mysterious little frame! Each organ new And learning swiftly what it has to do! Thy life’s bright stream—as yet so newly thine— Refreshed by heaven’s sunlit air divine; With what delight you breathe in rosy ease The strengthening, restful, blossom-scented breeze! So, let me wrap you in a blanket shawl, And veil your face in woollen, when at all You meet the air. Here in my arms is best The curtained bedroom where your elders rest; So shall I guard you from a draught, and so A mother’s instinct-guided love I’ll show. Young earnest mind at work! Each sense attends To teach you life’s approaching foes and friends; Eye, ear, nose, tongue, and ever ready hand, Eager to help you learn and understand. What floods of happiness the day insures, While each new knowledge is becoming yours! So, let me firmly take away from you The things you so persistently would view; And when you stretch the hand that tells so much, Rap your soft knuckles and exclaim, “Don’t touch!” I’ll tell you what you ought to learn, and so, A mother’s instinct-guided love I’ll show. An ordinary child at best, So neighbors tell; Not very large and strong, not very well; A victim to the measles and the croup, Fevers that flush and chill, and coughs that whoop; To unknown naughtiness and well-known pain; No racial progress here—no special gain! But I, your mother, see with other eyes; I hold you second to none under skies, This estimate, unbased on any fact, Shall teach you how to feel and how to act, Shall make you wise, and true, and strong, and so, A mother’s instinct-guided love I’ll show.
Previous: FEMALES.
Next: THEY WANDERED FORTH.