When We're Gone | Teen Ink

When We're Gone

November 24, 2008
By Anonymous

When Grace was born, on that same day,
Daddy took me to the hospital to see her face.
But I was too scared to hold her, scared I’d make her cry,
And I turned to leave after saying goodbye.
So I kept my distance, but my father and mother
Said, “When we’re gone you’ll have each other.”

After a while it just got worse
She needed mom and dad plus a baby nurse,
And people seemed to forget that I was alive,
This silly baby took more work than I had in mind.
So I completely ignored her, but my father and mother
Said, “When we’re gone you’ll have each other.”

Soon I was twelve and she was eight
Our relationship was something you could debate
Because sometimes we were nice, and sometimes we would fight
Basically, it didn’t keep my mom awake at night.
So we started getting closer, and my father and mother
Said, “When we’re gone you’ll have each other.”

Now, I’m 59 and she is 55
We’ve helped to keep each other healthy and alive
Mom and Dad are gone now, we’re on our own
It’s something we can’t believe but we’d always known
And as I look back I realize
That they’re gone, but we have each other.
Yes, they’re gone but we have each other.

And now my children have kids of their own
They’ve lived, they’ve explored, dove into the unknown.
It makes me smile, I hold back tears,
When the little ones fight, my daughter’s face turns austere
And she says something that she learned from her father and her mother:
“When we’re gone you’ll have each other.”

And now my kids are grown
Their own children fight and moan
And it makes my day to hear my daughter say.
“When we’re gone you’ll have each other.”


Similar Articles

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 0 comments.