She was standing by her mirror    Brushing out her curls and braids    That evening had arranged the night before    She noticed her pale cheeks    As were seen through haggard eyes    That suggested conversation in the morning    I have reached and scraped and borrowed    I have all but paid the price    As was ordered and was needed for the balance       Turning to her husband she so carefully said    My dear what put that idea in your head   Voices cried in silence or crept stealthily away    Left shimmering with rigid lips compressed       To watch over him and prey    Bring him up the Christian way    And now what can I say that’s less profane    Maybe I was in his power    I didn’t mean to tell you this    Though I don’t intend to share them to their full extent    If it’s sorry that we feel about it    Then with feeling I do respect    I am the most undisciplined of man       We are thrown out of our bedclothes    Instead of slumbering away    And a smile spreads like a sunbeam through your face       I am willing to bear my part    I’ve been hasty I’ve been surprised    And for this I’m only partially prepared