Two Women

The Mother

The midwife nearly drowned my son,

And beat him hard, before he’d give

That cry a mother longs to hear

To prove her precious babe will live.

The Wife

I wish that she had drowned him quite,

Or beat your precious babe to death;

Since he has grown so fierce and strong

He’ll beat me out of my last breath.

Your precious babe is now a man,

But, mother, he’s not worth the skin-

As husband, father, or a son-

That he was made for living in.