When John the Baptist was so young That he had not yet learned to speak A syllable of his native tongue, The voice must have been shrill and weak Wherewith his mother's heart was wrung. When Jesus' fists uncurled to clutch The shavings in his father's beard, Before he learned to like to touch The screws and nails his mother feared, Small wandering hands had hurt her much. When Judas was so frail a child He sucked and slept, and little more, -- His mother, patient still, beguiled The baby she must needs adore. He shaped a kiss: all day she smiled. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE WORLD'S WAY by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH THE ACHARNIANS: A PLEA FOR THE ENEMY by ARISTOPHANES THE FROGS: AN 'AESCHYLEAN' CHORUS by ARISTOPHANES THE GLORY OF ALL ENGLAND by EDWARD WILLIAM BOK AN EPISTLE by WILLIAM BROWNE (1591-1643) |