Who will take care of thee, my child ?
The dying mother said ;
Who'll care for thee, when I am laid
Upon my earthy bed?
Alas ! I leave thee to the world,
Thou little guileless one;
May some kind heart watch o'er thy life,
As I would fain have done.
Thine intellect, that slumbers yet
In childhood's narrow bound,
I give the world, to bless mankind,
And scatter wisdom round.
O, may the one, who guides thee through
The sunny vale of youth,
Impart a virtue, stern and pure,
A love of man and truth.
Thy soul, immortal as its God,
I leave in trust with those
Who, o'er the earth like angels spread,
Will mitigate thy woes ;
From them, of purity and grace
Thy soul receive its leaven,
Till, sped its way through earthly care,
It wings its flight to heaven.
