A lonely young wife
In her dreaming discerns
A lily-decked pool
With a border of ferns,
And a beautiful child,
With butterfly wings,
Trips down to the edge of the water and sings:
‘Come, mamma! come!
‘Quick! follow me—
‘Step out on the leaves of the water-lily!’
And the lonely young wife,
Her heart beating wild,
Cries, ‘Wait till I come,
‘Till I reach you, my child!’
But the beautiful child
With butterfly wings
Steps out on the leaves of the lily and sings:
‘Come, mamma! come!
‘Quick! follow me!
‘And step on the leaves of the water-lily!
And the wife in her dreaming
Steps out on the stream,
But the lily leaves sink
And she wakes from her dream.
Ah, the waking is sad,
For the tears that it brings,
And she knows ’tis her dead baby’s spirit that sings:
‘Come, mamma! come!
‘Quick! follow me!
‘Step out on the leaves of the water-lily!’
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Comments
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loss of a baby
From guest roslyn dorman (contact)
i lost a child myself 1990 bought a book this poem was in it i still read it over and over -
so true
From guest Rebecca Doll (contact)
It is sad but true. The fact that a son could write this about his mother and be able to articulate how she felt about loosing a child is incredible. I look for this poem every year around the anniversary of the death of my baby, as it helps me cry and get the anger and pain out. -
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