Child! poor child! So little and so weak!
Lift your head and try to see
Down the ages back of thee —
Hear the ages speak!

Life! One life! Since first acknowledged good,
Links o'erlapping endlessly,
Embodied immortality —
That is motherhood!

Life! All Life! Outspreading like a fan;
But each line going back and back
Along the smooth, unbroken track
Where motherhood began.

Life! Our Life! This world of friend and foe —
Brothers all by ties of blood
Through our common motherhood
A million years ago!

Child! Blind child! W e are the endless dream;
We, the fountain; we, the source;
We the guiders of the course
Of the unbroken stream.

Rise! Now rise! Take your appointed place!
Wise and strong as ne'er before —
Human, free, but all the more
The mother of the race!