When mother baked an angel cake we kids would gather round <br />An' watch her gentle hands at work, an' never make a sound; <br />We'd watch her stir the eggs an' flour an' powdered sugar, too, <br />An' pour it in the crinkled tin, an' then when it was through <br />She'd spread the icing over it, an' we knew very soon <br />That one would get the plate to lick, an' one would get the spoon. <br /> <br />It seemed no matter where we were those mornings at our play, <br />Upstairs or out of doors somewhere, we all knew right away <br />When Ma was in the kitchen, an' was gettin' out the tin <br />An' things to make an angel cake, an' so we scampered in. <br />An' Ma would smile at us an' say: 'Now you keep still an' wait <br />An' when I'm through I'll let you lick the spoon an' icing plate.' <br /> <br />We watched her kneel beside the stove, an' put her arm so white <br />Inside the oven just to find if it was heatin' right. <br />An' mouths an' eyes were open then, becoz we always knew <br />The time for us to get our taste was quickly comin' due. <br />Then while she mixed the icing up, she'd hum a simple tune, <br />An' one of us would bar the plate, an' one would bar the spoon. <br /> <br />Could we catch a glimpse of Heaven, and some snow-white kitchen there, <br />I'm sure that we'd see mother, smiling now, and still as fair; <br />And I know that gathered round her we should see an angel brood <br />That is watching every movement as she makes an angel food; <br />For I know that little angels, as we used to do, await <br />The moment when she lets them lick the icing spoon and plate.<br /><br />Edgar Albert Guest<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/when-mother-made-an-angel-cake/
