I Don't Know Why I Did It

My mom wrote this poem for a program in their ward. I thought this would be the perfect place to share it. Merry Christmas!

I Don’t Know Why I Did It

I don’t know why I did it
For someone such as he.
He’d surely get a lickin’
Had I only let things be.

A younger brother needs to know
That rules must be obeyed;
That chores must be completed
Before the games are played.

But father was so busy
Keeping up the Inn
To know where Jake was going,
Nor care where Jake had been.

There were so many people
I had my work to do,
I don’t know why I did it—
He should be working too.

But then I felt a prompting
Something deep within,
To look inside the stable
Behind our crowded Inn.

I tried to just ignore it,
To push the thought away.
If Jacob wasn’t working,
It’d be his price to pay.

The feeling was still nagging,
I could think of nothing more.
So pulling on my woolen wrap
I slipped out the back door.

It was as I suspected,
The chores weren’t getting done.
All the troughs were empty
While Jake was having fun.

I don’t know why I did it—
I should have turned him in,
But then I started feeling
That prompting once again.

I should have been unhappy
To do the extra chore,
Since my brother Jacob,
I did the favor for.

But something came upon me
The room was filled with awe.
The feeling was intensified
When I touched the straw.

I filled the manger to the top
And my heart burned within
What was it with this simple straw
That let this feeling in?

When the job was finished,
I paused to say a prayer,
To thank my Heavenly Father
For sending me out there.

That night my father sat us down
To tell us he was proud
Of how we did our chores that day
And managed the big crowd.

He said he had to turn away
A mother large with child,
But offered her and Joseph
The stable for a while.

I saw my little brother
A tear was welling up.
I knew what he was thinking
His chores were never done.

I don’t know why I did it,
But I pulled Jacob near,
And told him that I loved him
And that he needn’t fear.

The stars shone extra bright that night;
I found it hard to rest,
Jacob must have felt the same
For he crept into my bed.

He snuggled up real close to me
And closed his little lids.
I don’t know why I did it—
But I’m so glad I did.

~Jeanie Davis