A Reed by the River/The Mother
THE MOTHER
"My sons, O Lord!—If Thou who gave
Shalt bid me be bereft,
Who knew a mother's heart, O Thou,
Save them from sin, and place them now,
Upon Thy right and left!"—
Shalt bid me be bereft,
Who knew a mother's heart, O Thou,
Save them from sin, and place them now,
Upon Thy right and left!"—
Up Time's rough steep, with feeble tread,
The mother toileth yet;
How many days? How many years?—
Who counts the rosary of tears
Knows where her feet are set.
The mother toileth yet;
How many days? How many years?—
Who counts the rosary of tears
Knows where her feet are set.
Not for herself sweet Heaven she prays;
—God knows that on the day of days,
The prayer most self-forgetting, white,
The soul most radiant in His sight,
Will wear a mother's crown!—
—God knows that on the day of days,
The prayer most self-forgetting, white,
The soul most radiant in His sight,
Will wear a mother's crown!—
Not for herself—up Time's rough steep
The mother toileth yet;
O wakeful nights and watchful years!—
Who counts the rosary of tears
Knows where her feet are set.
The mother toileth yet;
O wakeful nights and watchful years!—
Who counts the rosary of tears
Knows where her feet are set.