The Hardest Part of Love

Oh, this son of mine I love so well, and oh the toll it takes
I would build a bridge of dreams for him and patch it where it breaks
But the one thing he must treasure is to make his own mistakes
Oh...
He is bound for lands I've traveled, I remember them so clear
I could tell him what to watch for, I could warn him what to fear
I could shout until I'm breathless and he'd still refuse to hear
Oh...

But you cannot close the acorn once the oak begins to grow
And you cannot close your heart to what it feels and needs to know
That the hardest part of love
Is the letting go

As a child I found a sparrow that had fallen from its nest
And I nursed it back to health till it was stronger than the rest
But when I tried to hold it, then it pecked and scratched my chest
Till I let it go

And I watched it fly away from me with its bright and selfish song
And a part of me was cursing I had helped it go so strong
And I feared it might go hungry, and I feared it might go wrong
Oh...

But you cannot close the acorn once the oak begins to grow
And you cannot close your heart to what it feels and needs to know
That the hardest part of love
Is the letting go

And it's only in Eden grows a rose without a thorn
And your children start to leave you on the day that they are born
They will leave you there to cheer for
them, they will leave you there to mourn
Ever so...

Like an ark on uncharted seas their lives will be tossed
And the deeper is your love for them, the crueler is the cost
And just when they start to find themselves
Is when you fear they're lost
Oh...

But you cannot close the acorn once the oak begins to grow
And you cannot close your heart to what it fears and needs to know
That the hardest part of love
And the rarest part of love
And the truest part of love
Is letting go