She dipped into the waters fresh,
Where the stately ibis feeds,
And paused among the sheltering reeds,
To lift her soul and cleanse her flesh.

And as she paused her eyes espied
A basket close to nearby shore.
She nearer drew to see some more,
And note what object was inside.

She saw the basket was well made,
With woven reeds to make it light,
But daubed with mud and water-tight,
As though a treasure it conveyed.

She peered inside and gave a gasp,
As wrapped in swaddling clothes, a child
Asleep so peacefully and mild,
Lay there within her grasp.

Her heart did leap for hidden joy,
For she had oft desired a son
To raise and watch his childhood fun,
And here was this abandoned boy.

She bid him brought for her to hold,
But when his Jewishness she saw,
And knew he’d die by Pharaoh’s law,
She made a plan, courageous, bold.

She’d claim this infant as her own,
Who even Pharaoh dare not kill,
Whose baby’s cries he could not still,
But she would raise in palace home.

A nurse to raise the child she’d need
To care for him in royal place.
Her eyes alit on Miriam’s face
Hiding ‘mongst the shoreline reeds.

The princess did her help implore,
And Miriam did her mother bring,
To nurture him as royal king,
Prepare him for his life in store.

Delivered from his watery grave,
As Moses, he’d deliverer be,
To set the Jewish captives free,
And by God’s power his race he’d save.