NAZARETH HOME

[Days of Childhood]

He took his first few steps today,
My darling little son,
How clever was that, I ask you?
He’s only just past one!
Then he tried to run, and down he went -
And bumped his precious nose,
So I had to kiss it and cuddle him up,
Then play with his little brown toes.

Can it really be that a year and more
Has passed since that wondrous night
When the angels sang as my baby came,
And that star shone its steady light?
And dear Joseph cared so tenderly
For me and my newborn son,
Though he knew his was not the begetting
That had fathered this holy one.

Joseph is making a little wheeled cart
To fill a small boy with delight:
Strong to last, the handle a cross,
For little hands gripping tight.
The sides are dovetailed - not roughly nailed -
Tender feet could be hurt by iron,
And with painted red splashes on the brown,
He can push and roar like a lion!

Our little yard has been neatly swept,
And the thorn-bush’s fence is strong:
Joseph said: “He could fall head-first in that,
And those thorns are so cruelly long!”
Dear Joseph - I’ve never told him
Quite all that the Angel said:
That a sword of sorrow would pierce my heart -
Why burden him with my dread?

Baby days rush away so fast,
And so we are cherishing dearly
This fast-growing boy, who is both our joy:
All this I know so clearly.
I try not to look down through the years,
But watch close these days that I have.
How else can I banish the picture that haunts
Of the shade of a cold, dark grave?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~