There is a breathless moment in the night

when ancient fears tear at a mother’s heart

And nothing reassures her but this sight

Her small boy sleeping in his bed, apart.

A mother feels aware of life and death,

And, brooding, realizes with the start

That she is listening to hear his breath.

Now all the bright mischievousness of the day

Is brushed aside by the soft wings of sleep.

This is the hour when mothers kneel and pray.

They never ask for glory but to keep

This small boy sweetness through the mark

Of bitter years. And some must wake and weep

For boys who sleep unguarded in the dark.

“A small boy sleeping” is reprinted with permission from “Journey from Red Hill, selected poems of Inez George Gridley from 1931 to 1996.” Published by CRS Outloudbooks, Claryville, NY. 1997.