To A New-Born Child

Small traveler from an unseen shore,
By mortal eye ne’er seen before,
To you, good-morrow.
You are as fair a little dame
As ever from a glad world came
To one of sorrow.
We smile above you, but you fret;
We call you gentle names, and yet
Your cries redouble.
‘Tis hard for little babes to prize
The tender love that underlies
A life of trouble.
And have you come from Heaven to earth?
That were a road of little mirth,
A doleful travel.
“Why did I come?” you seem to cry,
But that’s a riddle you and I
Can scarce unravel.
Perhaps you really wished to come,
But now you are so far from home
Repent the trial.
What! did you leave celestial bliss
To bless us with a daughter’s kiss?
What self-denial!
Have patience for a little space,
You might have come to a worse place,
Fair Angel-rover.
No wonder now you would have stayed,
But hush your cries, my little maid,
The journey’s over.
For, utter stranger as you are,
There yet are many hearts ajar
For your arriving,
And trusty friends and lovers true
Are waiting, ready-made for you,
Without your striving.
The earth is full of lovely things,
And if at first you miss your wings,
You’ll soon forget them;
And others, of a rarer kind
Will grow upon your tender mind—
If you will let them—
Until you find that your exchange
Of Heaven for earth expands your range
E’en as a flier,
And that your mother, you and I,
If we do what we should, may fly
Than Angels higher.