My little one, thy mother's dreaming eyes
Dwell on thy nestling head against her breast
With that supreme and satisfied surprise,
Maternity achieved. The strange behest
Of Life infused and made animate,
Of soul incarnate, loosened from the spell
Of mortal matter, and sent forth elate
To wing its flight from that unfathomed cell
Whence it was born, unto the radiant sun
That ever beckons to a higher flight;
The golden goal for which the race is run,
The heavenly goal which is eternal light.
Oh! dreaming mother, dost thou recognize
The winged spirit in thy baby's eyes!