Am in love with this poem, Larry! Especially the way you ended it. It shows what a wonderful and kind person you are.

It is always so difficult to let those you love make their own mistakes. Beautiful sentiments, wonderfully expressed. :)

That is one of the hardest thing for a parent to do...to let go. This is every parents' pain, a task a hurdle which they have to go through. I liked the simplicity of your words and how it shines through to the readers' to let them know of a parent's heart...nice :)

I have to admit, that this poem makes my heart ache. It really does. It is a beautiful poem, Larry. I don't exactly know what caused you to write this poem, but I imagine that it might have been a stubborn child who just wouldn't listen, or maybe a grandchild.

How much less you'd be
if I asked you to give them up
and stay sheltered in my arms.

^This stanza is my favorite; from my perspective it seems to be so heartfelt. I wish that my parents thought like that (they kind of want to get rid of me). To tell you the truth, I would probably rather stay in the shelter of my parent's arms than go out into the world because I am a coward and I don't like to go through change that often. There is just something about having the arms of those you love surrounding you.

A lot of children do not have the privilege of having a parent like that. Whoever this was about should be thankful that they have you as a parent/grandparent. These are words of wisdom. It really makes me want to cry.

Beautiful.