My Shekels

I went to bear a child,
And in a drawer.
Between my linens,
I hid my shekels.

These shekels I had saved,
To buy some wraps.
Lest my child be bare,
When I returned.

I bore my pain of child-birth,
Came home with little care.
I went to get my shekels,
They were not there.

Some thief had been there,
Had gone between my linens.
Had opened up my drawer,
And laid hands upon my shekels.

Years have past away,
Near forty of them gone.
I wonder at the shekels,
And where the thief is now.

E.P. 1908 - 1989

I remember hearing this story when I was a little girl.