A Lullaby
Lullee, lullay,
I could not love thee more
If thou wast Christ the King.
Now tell me, how did Mary know
That in her womb should sleep and grow
The Lord of everything?
Lullee, lullay,
An angel stood with her
Who said: “That which doth stir
Like summer in thy side
Shall save the world from sin.
Then stable, hall, and inn
Shall cherish Christmas-tide.”
Lullee, lullay,
And so it was that Day.
And did she love Him more
Because an angel came
To prophesy His name?
Ah no, not so,
She could not love Him more,
But loved Him just the same.
Lullee, lullay.
— Janet Lewis
Poem from the December 1938 issue of Poetry magazine, photo (1936) by Dorothea Lange from the Museum of Modern Art