| Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900. |
| |
| 773. His Mother’s Joy |
| | | By John White Chadwick |
| |
| |
| LITTLE, I ween, did Mary guess, | |
| As on her arm her baby lay, | |
| What tides of joy would swell and beat, | |
| Through ages long, on Christmas day. | |
| |
| And what if she had known it all,— | 5 |
| The awful splendor of his fame? | |
| The inmost heart of all her joy | |
| Would still, methinks, have been the same: | |
| |
| The joy that every mother knows | |
| Who feels her babe against her breast: | 10 |
| The voyage long is overpast, | |
| And now is calm and peace and rest. | |
| |
| “Art thou the Christ?” The wonder came | |
| As easy as her infant’s breath: | |
| But answer none. Enough for her, | 15 |
| That love had triumphed over death. | |
| |
|
|
|
