Classic Poem

Lay the little limbs out straight;
Gently tend the sacred clay;
Sorrow-shaded is our fate—
Baby died to-day.

Fold the hands across the breast,
So, as when he knelt to pray;
Leave him to his dreamless rest—
Baby died to-day.

Voice, whose prattling infant-lore
Was the music of our way,
Now is hushed for evermore—
Baby died to-day.

Sweet blue eyes, whose sunny gleams
Made our waking moments gay,
Now can shine but in our dreams—
Baby died to-day.

Still a smile is on his face,
But it lacks the joyous play
Of the one we used to trace—
Baby died to-day.

Give his lips your latest kiss;
Dry your eyes and come away;
In a happier world than this
Baby lives to-day!