I Confess

I Confess

Shaw

Oh yes! He has all the answers!

He's gonna set me straight

How can he presume to know what I've been through?

He hasn't got a clue!

But how could anyone

Unless they've had a son?

As perfect as a child could be

The best of all the best in me

My brush with immortality

My kid

For sixteen winters and fifteen springs

I had a son, and still it stings

When I remember all the things

We did

Me and my kid

Simple things like fishing at the lake

Tip-toeing out before dawn

Bobby would worry

If we didn't hurry

All of the fish would be gone

We would sit and huddle in the boat

Waiting for something to bite

And I'd watch the sunrise

In my own son's eyes

And the world would fill up with light

And Bobby would ask a million questions:

"Daddy? How many is the biggest number?" or "Daddy, why do I have a thumb?"

And I confess

I didn't always have the answers

I didn't always know which way was true

Nevertheless

I always tried to lead with love

That's all that any father can do

As the years went by we had our diff'rences

(But then, who doesn't?)

Even if the friendship wasn't all it was before

We shared a lot

And who'd have thought that so much joy

Could vanish in a blink?

Who ever stops to think?

And in that final moment

Who knows what went wrong?

The questions come too late

And linger far too long and

I confess

I don't always have the answers

I don't always know which way is true

Nevertheless

I've always tried to lead with love

It's all that any father can do

And then look! Look! What do I do?!

This boy comes to me

This fatherless child

I scoff at his pain and I send him away!

My daughter speaks up

And I shout her down

I won't hear a word of what she has to say!

My wife reaches out

And I turn my back

I send her to bed without even a kiss!

Can my God forgive

The things I have done

While I've tried forgetting how much I'm still

missing my son?

I'm tired of feeling nothing but numb

Maybe the time has come

To finally let the world in

But how do I begin?

Give me strength and maybe then

I can reach my fellow men

So we all may rise again

(He stands before his congregation)

I confess

I don't always have the answers

I don't always know which way is true

Nevertheless

I've always tried to lead with love

Please, join me in asking our Lord to guide

and protect our children.