Page:All quiet along the Potomac and other poems.djvu/141

 WEIGHING THE BABY. 135

He did not count the baby s smile, The love born with the helpless one ;

He did not weigh the threads of care Of which a woman s life is spun.

No index tells the mighty worth

Of little Baby s quiet breath, Or heart-beat s ruddy metronome,

Uncounted till it stops in death.

Nobody weighed the baby s soul,

For here on earth no weights there be

That could avail. God only knows Its value through eternity.

Only eight pounds to hold a soul That seeks no angel s silver wing,

But shrines itself in human guise Within this fair and helpless thing.

O mother, sing your merry note !

O father, laugh, but don t forget From Baby s eyes looks out a soul

To be in Eden s light reset !

�� �