Poems (Blake)/Robbie's Angel

by Mary Elizabeth Blake

ROBBIE'S ANGEL!

In the shower and shine of April
 We laid beneath the sod
Our darling, our wee white maiden,
 To bloom in the fields of God;
And the children, who missed her sorely,
 Would talk to me day by day
Of the dear little angel sister,
 Who had wandered so far away!

And they learned to send a greeting,
 Each night as they knelt in prayer,
And thought God told our darling,
 Who listened and heard it there:
For we dared not cloud their gladness,
 Nor speak of our circle riven,—
But as if the chain had lengthened,
 And reached from earth to heaven.
·····
When winter snows were whitest,
 And piled into drift on drift,
Another wee nestling reached us,—
 A wonderful Christmas gift!
And the children gathered around it
 In beautiful glad surprise
At the size of the baby's fingers,—
 The blue of the baby's eyes.

Then Robbie, in eager wonder,
 With his dimpled face alight,
Said, "What were you called, you darling,
 When you came to our house last night?"
And when nurse replied, "An angel,"
 His great brown eyes grew wide,—
"Oh! what was your name, sweet angel,
 In the house from which you died?