There's a house on the hill by a path ever winding From the window sill a young mother is calling She flicks the porch-light on saying supper is ready Steaming like the smoke from the chimney Come crawling from the bush, matted curls, grubby fingers Knobbly knees that have stood in the face of many dangers She's built a mighty fort with a blanket for a shield The breath of a lilac and flowers of the field 'Soon as she was in to dine on milk and potatoes I snatched up that blanket, ran as fast as the wind blows A knot in my stomach, the blanket a sail Hiding my guilt like a cotton veil I reached my hollow of wood chips and acorns The sweet smell of pine and of earth after rainstorms Though she may cry tears of salty white I sigh with relief to be warm tonight As I lay me down for to sleep in the darkness I hear a bird moan two notes of loneliness She sings for her baby who's lost in the wild I wonder if my own mother is singing for her child