" THE MOTHER WATCH "

[MIRIAM JACOB]

" THE MOTHER WATCH "


She never closed her eyes at night
Till we were all in bed;
On party nights 'till we came home
She often sat and read.
We little thought about it then,
When we were young and gay
How much the Mother worried
When we children were away

We only knew she never slept
When we were out at night
And that she waited just to know
That we'd come home all right.
Why, sometimes when we strayed 'till one
Or two or three.
It seemed to us that Mother heard
The turning of the key;
For always when we stepped inside
She'd call and we'd reply,
But we were all too young back then
To understand just why.

Untill the last one had returned
She always kept a light
For Mother couldn't sleep untill
She'd kissed us all good night.

She had to know that we were safe
Before she went to rest;
She seemed to fear the world might harm
The ones she loved the best.


And once she said "When you have grown
To women and to men
Perhaps I'll sleep the whole night through
I may be different then".
And so it seemed that night or day
We knew a Mother's care
That always when we got back home
We'd find her waiting there.


Then came the night when we were called
Together 'round her bed,
"The children all are with you now," The kindly doctor said;
And in her eyes there gleamed again
The old time tender light
That told she had been waiting
Just to know we were all right.
She smiled the old familiar smile
Then prayed to God to keep
Us safe, from harm through-out the years
And then she went to sleep.


Author

Red Foley

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