O mother who sips sweetened liquors! <br />Look down at the child on your breast; <br />Think, think of the rough path before him, <br />And ask yourself then, 'Is it best? <br />Shall I foster a love for this poison, <br />Instil the thirst into his veins? <br />In the fountain he seeks at my bosom <br />Sow the rank seeds of death, grief, and pains? <br /> <br /> <br />'Shall I give him the thirst of the drunkard, <br />Bequeath him the weapons of crime? <br />Can we look for a glass of pure water <br />Dipped up from a fountain of slime? <br />Can we look for brave men, strong and noble, <br />Where the parents drink poison for food? <br />When the body and soul are corrupted, <br />Can we look for the works to be good?' <br /> <br /> <br />Oh! think of the future before him! <br />There are perils you cannot remove. <br />Yet this, the great highway of sorrow- <br />Oh! guard him from this with your love. <br />There are rough paths enough in the future <br />For the feet of the child on your breast; <br />And lower the glass you are lifting, <br />And ask yourself, then, 'Is it best?'<br /><br />Ella Wheeler Wilcox<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/is-it-best/
