Now I lay me down to sleep I pray the Lord my tears to keep My baby sleeps in Heaven's arms Peaceful with angelic charms Take my tears but grant me a kiss From the angel baby I so miss.

This verse appears to be a modern, anonymous adaptation of the well-known children’s bedtime prayer “Now I lay me down to sleep,” reshaped into an elegy for an infant or young child who has died. Such reworkings commonly circulate in condolence cards, memorial websites, and social-media posts, where familiar devotional language is used to express parental grief and the hope of reunion. The imagery of “Heaven’s arms” and “angel baby” reflects a popular Christian consolatory tradition that frames the deceased child as safe, innocent, and cared for in the afterlife, while the speaker remains on earth struggling with tears and longing.

The poem juxtaposes the ritual calm of bedtime prayer with the rawness of bereavement. By beginning with a recognizable lullaby-prayer, it evokes childhood innocence, then pivots to a parent’s plea: not for protection from nightly dangers, but for relief from grief and a sign of continued connection (“grant me a kiss”). The speaker imagines the child “in Heaven’s arms,” a theological reassurance that the baby is beyond harm, while the living must endure sorrow. The request that God “keep” the tears suggests both sanctifying grief and containing it—holding sorrow without erasing love or memory.