Today’s words are for my sister, Bernice and her husband Wayne. They are the new great-grandparents of Cam, a Preemie boy, who is now doing well and out of an Incubator and into a crib in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit).
Because of the emergency of the birth, the Father, stationed in Afghanistan, was allowed a special Leave to come home, and it’s a wonderful time.
So, thinking of babies, I dug out a poem that Johnson Baby Products used in an advertisement in 1953. It’s done its work for lots of babies since then, and though some of the wording is dated . . . the heart of the poem is as true today as it was then.
And so, to Bernice and Wayne, Katherine, Cam and all others, my greetings.
Yes, there’s a baby in the house . . .
Look there,
there by the door, there where a shoe and a crumpled sock,
and a bright red block,
and a short fat elephant clutter the floor,
and the signs are clear . . .
A baby is near.
Look there,
there by the stair,
by the cellar stair to the washing machine,
there’s a stack of diapers that ought to be clean,
and a clutter of strange looking things to wear,
and the signs are clear,
A baby lives here.
Look there,
there by the table,
there where the milk drips down in a puddle
and fruit and cereal mix in a muddle,
and a soiled bib swings from a silver cable,
all signs are clear
A baby eats here.
Look there,
there in the bed,
there where a red-faced cherub lies, thumb in his mouth,
and tight-shut eyes, and his bottom higher than his head.
Quiet, quiet, it’s perfectly clear
A baby sleeps here.
Look there,
look in the eyes,
and look in the hearts
of those who watch while a baby sleeps,
who will come at a call if he wakes and weeps,
who forget the diapers and broken toys,
who remember the tears and fears and joys
and the catch in the throat, and the clutch of the heart
when small hands fumble, and reach and touch.
Yes, look in their hearts, and the signs are clear
A baby lives here.
Congratulations to the new great-grandparents, joy to the Grandparents, happiness to the parents, and welcome to the baby, Cam.
I’ve been looking for this all morning to print out for my niece and her new son.It was on the wall in her fathers nursery when I was 10.Thank you so much.
Thank you for helping me figure out what this poem was and where I could find it!
It hung on my wall for years when I was a little girl and then it got put away and I never saw it again.
I often thought of it….. but could not remember the name, or the words, or who put it out.
Thanks again 🙂
Thanks for the memory. This poem hung on the wall in my childhood doctor’s office 50 years ago my mom read it to me once a week for like 10 years. The old weekly allergy shot ☺
still loving this poem from when I was born, 1954 to pass to my future granddaughter ( November) 2018!!!
Yes!!! I loved this poem too. My mom gave me in 1966, I framed fir my daughters room. About to be a gr.grandmom at 75 and hope I can get this and frame for my granddaughter