With One Ear Tuned...

We cannot sleep as those who have not held or once caressed
A wee babe and rocked them, cradled closely to our breast
Beneath the glow of evening star or wisp of lambent moon
Beyond the sighing of the pines or night-birds as they croon
Above the song of breezes as they stir the woodland deep
We listen for our children until they are asleep

We cannot sleep as those who’ve never soothed with hugs or prayer
The child who weeps because he woke from a fearsome nightmare
Once we were young and tiptoed in; for fear the chiming clock
Should rouse the parent who was tuned to hear the faintest walk
And as the nighttime wraps the earth in shadows dark and deep
I slumber lightly now until my children are asleep


Janet~