Lament - Bernadette Peters

This is the world I meant

Couldn’t you listen?

Couldn’t you stay content?

Safe behind walls, as I could not

Now you know what’s out there in the world

No one can prepare you for the world, even I

How could I, who loved you as you were

How could I have shielded you from her or them?

No matter what you say

Children won’t listen

No matter what you know

Children refuse to learn

Guide them along the way

Still they won’t listen

Children can only grow

From something you love

To something you lose