In The Firelight
The fire upon the hearthis low,
And there is stillness everywhere,
And, like wing'd spirits, here and there
The firelight shadows fluttering go.
And as the shadows round em creep,
A childish treble breaks the gloom,
And soflty from a further room
Comes: "Now I lay me down to sleep."
And, somehow, with that little pray'r
And that sweet treble n my ears,
My thought goes back to distand years,
And lingers, with a dear one there;
And as I hear my childs's amen,
My mother's faith comes back to me--
Crouched at her side I seem to be,
And mother holds my hands again.
Oh, for an hour in that dear place--
Oh, for the peace of that dear time--
Oh, for that childish trust sublime--
Oh, for a glimpse of mother's face!
Yet, as the shadows round me creep,
I do not seem to be alone--
Sweet magic of that treble tone
And "Now I layme down to sleep!"
Poems of Childhood
Evgene Field
With Illvstrations
By Maxfield Parrish
