I may never teach you

How to cast a line

By some quiet water

In the morning light

I may never show you

How a strong knot holds

How a heart keeps standing

When the hard wind blows

I may never know your laugh

From across the room

Never see you running

Through the afternoon

But you are still my grandchild

That will always be true

Being apart

Was never

Giving up on you

I would give anything

To stand there by your side

But not the things that matter

Not the truth I keep inside

Some lines are drawn in sorrow

Not anger breaking through

Being apart

Was never

Giving up on you

I may never hold you

When the movie ends

With your sleepy head resting

In your grandpa’s hands

I may never play you

That old guitar song

The one I wrote for my children

When the nights were long

I may never teach you

Where the right notes are

Never watch your fingers

Find their way across the guitar

I may never see you drive

Or watch your life begin

But I will love you forever

Even from where I am

I would give anything

To stand there by your side

But not the things that matter

Not the truth I keep inside

Some lines are drawn in sorrow

Not anger breaking through

Being apart

Was never

Giving up on you

Grandpa made mistakes

I have carried my own shame

I have broken things in life

That I could never blame away

So this is not judgment

It is not a stone I throw

It is what a heart can learn

From the years that make it grow

Doing right still matters

When nobody sees the cost

Honor for honor’s sake

Even after what is lost

Discipline for family

For the ones we hope to save

Sometimes love holds a line

And carries it to the grave

I would give anything

To stand there by your side

But not the things that matter

Not the truth I keep inside

Some lines are drawn in sorrow

Not anger breaking through

Being apart

Was never

Giving up on you

There are things I cannot say

Without making sorrow grow

Some roads are walked in silence

For reasons few may know

So I will carry quiet

And let time reveal what is true

I do not need the whole world

To understand my love for you

And when my time is over

I do not know what souls can do

But if love can cross the darkness

Mine will try to get to you

I would give anything

To stand there by your side

But not the things that matter

Not the truth I keep inside

You are a part of my blood

And all the love I never knew

Being apart

Was never

Giving up on you

When you are grown

Look for yourself

Do not let old pain decide

If stories fade or change

Search deeper than what is shown

Find the truth

And let it lead you