A Mother’s Midnight Prayer

Help me remember, when I feel it’s a chore,

The time will come when I will hold him no more.

Asleep on my chest, the crib refused,

The blanket, the pacifier, gone unused.

What better place is there to lay his head,

Than against my heart, my arms his bed?

For infants grow up and leave us behind

With only memories left to remind.

Of midnight waking and predawn rocking,

Of soft helpless babies unable to sleep.

So, make me patient and keep me awake,

While I cradle this child, and don’t let me take,

For granted the moments I spend in the night

With this baby, a gift, my joy, my delight!