Poetry Archives

Two little children sit by my side,
   I call them Lily and Daffodil;
I gaze on them with a mother’s pride,
   One is Edna, the other is Will.

Both have eyes of starry light,
   And laughing lips o’er teeth of pearl.
I would not change for a diadem
  My noble boy and darling girl.

To-night my heart o’erflows with joy;
   I hold them as a sacred trust;
I fain would hide them in my heart,
   Safe from tarnish of moth and rust.

What should I ask for my dear boy?
   The richest gifts of wealth or fame?
What for my girl?  A loving heart
   And a fair and a spotless name?

What for my boy?  That he should stand
   A pillar of strength to the state?
What for my girl?  That she should be
   The friend of the poor and desolate?

I do not ask they shall never tread
   With weary feet the paths of pain.
I ask that in the darkest hour
   They may faithful and true remain.

I only ask their lives may be
   Pure as gems in the gates of pearl,
Lives to brighten and bless the world—
   This I ask for my boy and girl.

I ask to clasp their hands again
     ’Mid the holy hosts of heaven,
  Enraptured say: “I am here, oh! God,
     “And the children Thou hast given.”