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TO MY SLEEPING CHILDREN.
OW calmly ye are sleeping now,Sweet innocents, without a care!
No shade of earth on each fair brow,
No cloud amid the sunshine there.
Still free from every mortal stain,
Ye slumber like the folded flowers,
And only live in dreams again
The sinless sports of waking hours.
Oh, loveliest morn of life's brief day,
'Tis sweet to watch thy dawning light,
And strive to mark the first pale ray
That breaks upon the mental night;
To guard with fond, unceasing care,
The opening mind, the guileless heart,
And feel a light is kindled there,
Not death itself can bid depart.
'Tis sweet to watch thy dawning light,
And strive to mark the first pale ray
That breaks upon the mental night;
To guard with fond, unceasing care,
The opening mind, the guileless heart,
And feel a light is kindled there,
Not death itself can bid depart.
And yet, as thus I fondly bend
Above each slumbering cherub's rest,
Deep, anxious thoughts will ofttimes blend,
Amid the joy that thrills my breast.
Above each slumbering cherub's rest,
Deep, anxious thoughts will ofttimes blend,
Amid the joy that thrills my breast.
