And laid her baby by her on the bed,
Heard the words they could not understand.
And I drew them round my knee at night,
Hushed their childish glee, and made them say,
They would keep her words with loving tears,
They would not forget her dying fears,
Lest the thought of her should fade away.
I, who guess’d what her last dread had been,
Made a promise to that still, cold face,
That her children’s hearts, at any cost,