"Poem for a Fifth Child"

Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth
Empty the dustpan - poison the moth
Hang out the washing - make up the bed
Sew on a button and butter the bread.
Where is the mother, whose house is so shocking?
She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I've gotten shiftless as Little Boy Blue,
(Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo)
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
(Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo)

The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew
And out in the yard there's a hullaba-loo
But I'm playing "Kanga" and this is my "Roo"
(Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo)

The cleaning and scrubbing can wait 'till tomorrow
But children grow up as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs:  Dust, go to Sleep!
I'm nursing my baby and babies don't keep.
 Ruth Hamilton, 1958
--
Catherine Watson Genna, IBCLC  New York City  mailto:[log in to unmask]

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