How many pounds does the baby weigh-
Baby who came but a month ago?
How many pounds from the crowning curl
To the rosy point of the restless toe?
Grandfather ties the 'kerchief not,
Tenderly guides the swinging weight,
And carefully over his glasses peers
To read the record "only eight."
Softly the echo goes around:
The father laughs at the tiny girl;
The fair young mother sings the words,
While grandmother smooths the golden curl.
And stooping above the precious thing,
Nestles a kiss, within a prayer.
Murmuring softly, "Little one,
Grandfather didn't weigh you fair."
Nobody weighed the baby's smile,
Or the love that came with the helpless one;
Nobody weighed the threads of care,
From which the threads of care,
From which a woman's life is spun...
Nobody weighed the baby's soul
For here on earth, no weights there be
That would avail. God only knows
Its value in eternity...
-ETHEL LYNN BEERS