“In the lap of the deathless spirit, who rules our home, you have been nursed for ages.
“When, in girlhood, my heart was opening its petals, you hovered as a fragrance about it.
“Your tender softness bloomed in my youthful limbs like a glow in the sky before sunrise.
“Heaven’s first darling, twin-born with the morning light, you have floated down the stream of the world’s life, and at last you have stranded on my heart.
“As I gaze on your face mystery overwhelms me; you who belong to all who have become mine.
“For fear of losing you I hold you tight to my breast. What magic has snared the world’s treasure in these slender arms of mine?”
From “The Crescent Moon” (child poems), by Rabindranath Tagore.
GETTING READY TO BE A MOTHER
A Little Book of Information and Advice for the Young Woman Who is Looking Forward to Motherhood
BY
CAROLYN CONANT VAN BLARCOM, R.N.