Mother’s Treasures

By Mrs. F. E. W. Harper

Two little children sit by my side,
I call them Lily and Daffodil;
I gaze on them with a mother’s pride,
One is Edna and the other is Will.

Both have eyes of starry light
And laughing lips over teeth of pearl.
I would not change for a diadem
My noble boy and darling girl.

To-night my heart o’erflows with joy;
I hold them as a sacred trust.
I fain would hide them in my heart,
Safe from tarnish of moth and rust.

What should I ask for my dear boy?
The richest gift of wealth or fame?
What for my girl? A loving heart
And a fair and spotless name?

What for my boy? That he should stand
A pillar of strength to the state.
What for my girl? That she should be
The friend of the poor and desolate.

I do not ask that they shall never tread
With weary feet the paths of pain;
I ask that in the darkest hour
They may faithful and true remain.

I only ask their lives may be
Pure as gems in the gates of pearl,
Lives to brighten and bless the world—
This I ask for my boy and girl.

I ask to clasp their hands again
’Mid the holy hosts of heaven;
Enraptured, say: “I am here, O God!
And the children thou hast given.”