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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


THE CHILD'S MOTHER by LOUISE TOWNSEND NICHOLL

First Line: I WHO WAS WITH HER ALL THE TIME, A CHILD
Last Line: BUT THEN I NEVER KNEW THAT SHE WAS YOUNG.
Subject(s): MOTHERS;

I who was with her all the time, a child,
Remember now just how she spent the days.
The names of flowers in the garden ways
She said were little live things, winged and wild,
Which hovered just above -- for she loved words.
Inside, the house was quiet when she sewed;
Around her in the room the silence flowed.
Her hands were warm and quick, like quiet birds.
The flickering candles in her looking-glass
Widened her eyes to pools of wonder deep.
Once in my father's arms I saw her weep.
And sometimes she came running, on the grass.
Now I hear fragments of a song she sung,
But then I never knew that she was young.



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