Plea for a sick child

Dear Lord, she is so very small
Please let my child survive
It is not many months at all
Since she has been alive.

I am standing in the Children's Ward
On this frosty Christmas Day
I have come to see my baby
To cuddle her and play.

Her cot is piled with presents
Tiny clothes and furry toys.
There are lots of other parents here
To see their girls and boys.

My babe was born so perfect
How could anything be wrong
Why does she not thrive at all
Grow bonny, bright and strong?

Oh, please don't take her life away
Before she's had a chance
To grow into a little girl
And learn to skip and dance.

Shirley Bates 1960