Once a wife in Bethlehem
Had a child like me:
Once she watched a sleepy head
Held upon her knee,
And, with young eyes dim,
Now she prayed for him!

Every life holds pain and strife,
Each life holds delight:
Through their paths' entanglement
May he walk aright,
Like her, so today
For my child I pray.

May her Babe, as quick years flow,
Hand in hand with my child go,
Holding him with loving arm
Safe from hurt and free from harm.