When the song of the Bethlehem angels
Lured her away from earth—
"A little before she left us,
We had deftly raised to view,
On the topmost branch of the holly,
Yon glimmering, tiny shoe;
"For again 'twas the time of Christmas,
As she lay with laboring breath;
But.... our minds were blinded strangely,
And we did not dream of death.