Page:All quiet along the Potomac and other poems.djvu/341

 THE BABY S COMING. 335

&quot; The baby s coming very soon ;

And may be here to-morrow. I didn t know a baby lived

Within a furlong here ; Not that I sanction Herod s plan,

But then they cry. Oh dear !

I know there will be silver spoons

That smell of paregoric, I know there will be wails by day,

And nights most melancholic. The doors must all be shut, no doubt,

If &quot; baby &quot; dear should sneeze ; The &quot;baby s&quot; carriage in the hall

Must graze the boarders knees.

Where did I leave off journal-leaves ?

Ah, here, &quot;the baby&quot; dreading. Such queer events since then have come

Close on each other treading ! The &quot; baby &quot; ! Well, the baby came,

Is here to-day, God bless her ! And I have learned to love it well

Would, if I dared, caress her.

So I sat down at breakfast-time

A little sulky maybe, And then the morning brighter grew

With advent of &quot;the baby.&quot; A lady fair, with starry eyes

With summer sleep yet dewy,

�� �