THE WEIGHT OF LOVE
Reading edition
I was sitting in the parlor With my Sweetheart on my knee, And the fireplace lights and shadows Silhouetted her and me. Heavy grew she towards the morning, When the gold-fringed sunbeams leap: She was wide awake as ever But my leg was fast asleep. Flesh is weak and so I shifted My loved load, as best I could, From the numb knee to the other; From the leg of flesh to wood. Then I felt my Sweetheart shiver, And I realized her state When she drew a white-ash sliver From the leg articulate.