The Graveside

If you had a stone
I’d sit days long
Take in the silence
Listen to thoughts

I’d hear what you hear
With a soft winds air
Of the birds in the trees
Singing their share

I’d sit by your stone
Share stories of old
With stories of new
And all I’ve unknown

I’d ask for your help
Ask your advice
For things that don’t go
Quite all that right

But you don’t have a stone
Or place I can hide
When the world ‘comes too much
I’ve no where to hide

No place I can go
To sit by your side
Swap stories of old
Of days gone by

So in this room I will sit
And quietly cry
As the memories of all
Come flying on by

How you taught me to ride
Then taught me to fly
Get up again
Not a tear in eye

You taught me to think
How things are built
While gave me a kit
Encouraged through fits

Taught me to fish
To tie the line
And to never quit
In trying times

And comparing my life from then to now
It’s easy to see what stuck around
From teachings of young, lessons old
A new little one, to pass on shared goals

And if you had a stone
I’d sit by it now
With tears in my eyes
Telling you how
Much I have grown

I’ve turned into you
More ways than one
Raising my own
Through hell’s lost and won

We weren’t perfect then
We’re not perfect now
Doing what we can
In what we have around

My one wish to make
Is for me to turn out
To be half the man
You were with no doubt

So in lieu of a stone
This will do for now
To sit with memories
Of golden days
And think on you now
All the times we shared
That helped shape me
To the man I am now