The Hardest Part of Love

Oh this son of mine I love so well
And oh the toll takes
I give to him a garden and I keep it clear of snakes
But the one thing he most treasures is to make his own mistakes, ohhh
He goes charging up the cliffs of life, a reckless mountaineer
I could help him not to stumble, I could warn him what to fear
I could shout until I'm breathless, and he'd still refuse to hear, ooh
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
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 that 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 selfless song
And part of me was cursing I had helped it grow so strong
And I feared it might go hungry, and I feared it might go wrong, ohh
But I could not close the acorn once the oak began to grow
And I cannot close my heart to what it fears and needs to know
That the hardest part of love
Is the letting go
(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, ohhh
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 (love)
Is letting go