Babies Don't Keep
This poem made me think of you the minute I read it. Even though you aren't "rocking" a baby (yet), you're doing a much more important job - you're in the process of making one! Enjoy the poem - and remember, you're doing the most important job, even IF your dishes aren't done and the dishwasher's broken and the house is messy and Kathrynne isn't getting to celebrate Christmas and the laundry's not done and dinner isn't made (nor has it been for weeks!), ETC!!! A year from now, you'll be hanging Christmas decorations with two babies. How fun!
Kathrynne and I on our Branson trip a few weeks back. Babies Don't Keep
Mother, oh Mother, come shake out your cloth,
empty the dustpan, dispose of the moth,
hang out the washing and butter the bread,
sew on a button and make up a bed.
Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She's up in the nursey, blissfully rocking.
Oh, I've grown shiftless, as Little Boy Blue,
(lullaby, rockaby, lullaby, loo).
Dishes are waiting, and bills are past-due
(Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peek-a-boo).
The shopping's not done, and there's nothing for stew,
and out in the yard there's a hullabaloo.
But I'm playing Kanga, and this is my Roo.
Look! Aren't her eyes the most wonderful hue?
(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby, loo).
The cleaning and scrubbing will wait 'till tomorrow,
for children grow up, as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust, go to sleep.
I'm rocking my baby, and babies don't keep.
-Ruth Hulburt Hamilton
posted by Crystal Paine at 11:17 AM
10 Comments:
The real name of this poem is 'Song for a Fifth Child'. The last stanza has been made into many a cross-stitch and needlepoint pattern, one of which I am doing for my newest blessing-to-come...my 5th child.
Blessings,
Mrs. Huckabay
I love this poem! Had been wondering who the author was for some time now, so thanks for posting it.
Because the Lord didn't bless us with our boys until we were 36, sometimes I think I cherish each moment so much. Life is too short to worry about "keeping up with Martha Stewart".
My older brother actually gave up his private medical practice to teach so he could be home for his daughter after school. My niece is extremely grounded as a result of his choice.
Keep rocking those babies!
What a lovely poem! Thanks for sharing it. Sometimes I forget to slow down so that I can cherish my little ones and now that I have another on the way...I want to keep those precious times more closely.
Sommer
I didn't know that this poem had so many verses-I am very familiar with the last verse.My step mother cross stiched it over 30 years ago for the first grandchild and 3 of us have used the picture for 7 babies who now range from 31-12!!
I love that poem and have looked for places to buy it. I would love to have it on a plaque or something. I don't cross-stitch so that's out. Does anyone know where I can buy this poem to display on my walls? It would be a great thing to put in my entry way.
Thank you for posting that Crystal!
I grew up knowing the last verse, since my mom had a cross stitched version, but don't think I have ever read the rest of it.
How perfect that it is called "Song for a Fifth Child"!
Since the arrival of our fifth precious baby in just under five years, last January I have struggled as never before to keep on top of the housework, etc.
What a wonderful reminder to relax and enjoy these all too fleeting days. :-)
For those of you ladies who don't do needlepoint or cross-stitch, just search on ebay 'Song for a Fifth Child' or 'Babies Don't Keep'. There are often plaques and prints with this verse up for bidding.
Sniff! So true.
I ran across this poem after the birth of my first baby in May. I was struggling to keep up with my "pre-baby" life - and this poem was just what I needed! I typed it up on pretty paper with his picture printed on it and it hangs on my refrigerator beside my to-do list - it keeps me focused on the really important things in life!!! -Tiffany
Dear angel,
Thank you so much for sharing this with me, and please thank your friend as well, since she shared it with you.
I have heard this poem before, but it means so much more to me now.
On November 24th of this year, my dear sister Valerie gave birth to her first child - my neice. It has been a beautifully emotional time for all of us, and tears of joy abound.
One day, I was there and watching her hold her beautiful precious child, and she was saying that the house was a mess, but that a friend of hers had said that one can either be a good mom or a good housekeeper. I agreed with her that the child she was holding was much much infinitely way more important than any single housekeeping chore, and I told her that I love her, and we both started crying, and embraced, with her still holding the babe. :-) We've been known to cry in response to heartwarming situations.
Anyway, it made me think of this poem, and I told her so, and she said she hadn't heard it, and so i decided right then that I would find a copy and give it to her.
The idea expanded when I found a picture of her in her rocker with the baby, and so I decided to get a frame and put the poem and the picture together.
I did a google search for the poem, and was guided to your blog entry, and so now you have become involved in the process and I thank you. :-)
If you would like to see the result of 'our' work, I will be happy to share. I have created a place for it to go, at http://code-slave.livejournal.com/15723.html.
May God bless you, and I thank you for touching my life and, through me, my sister's life, and so on... who knows where it will go next, but I believe it may go far and help make good things happen.
Cheryl
P.S.
I know that "Angel" is not your name, but I believe you are an angel to me. (that's why I started the comment, "Dear angel", and why I didn't capitalize "angel".)
:-)
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