Harvest Moon

Josephine Preston Peabody

For the flood,
For the ebb,
(Turn and fold, and fold again,)
Drop by drop, of shining blood.
Life-blood that we gave our men.

Well for me, well for you.
Work is ever yet to do;
Web to wear the daylight through;
Work to do!

From his first of swaddling-bands.
In our hands.—
Now he hears, and understands.
All our spinning song complete,
So he have the winding-sheet.

Better so: the one refrain,—
Back to us, to us again!
All our master-building thus,
Back to us.

This to wind, and this to bathe;
Here, to lull with swathe on swathe;
So to staunch, and so to bind
Darkness softly on our blind.