The Greatest Career

So glad a tiny baby came To share your life and love and name,

For no doubt she is the greatest claim That you have ever had to fame . . .

And don’t misunderstand me, dear,

You were a star in your career,

But what, I ask you, is success

Compared with heaven’s happiness?

And how could plaudits anywhere Be half as wonderful and fair?

For this experience of the heart Surpasses any skill or art,

For man excels in every line But woman has a gift divine,

And in this world there is no other As greatly honored as a mother.

Helen Steiner Rice, Virginia Ruehlmann, and Patsy Clairmont, The Poems and Prayers of Helen Steiner Rice (Grand Rapids, MI: Revell, 2004).