I know what I have seen,
In the bitter watches of the night;
I know where my hands have been,
As they soothe your body in its fight.

I know what pain you bear,
As the cancer eats away at you;
I know what oath awaits me there —
To relinquish what love must do.

I’ve lost pieces of my heart before —
Five weeks gone, had Death cast his spell;
Yet I must again beg at his door,
Where painless mercy chooses to dwell.

It is for us, I keep you with me still –
Breathing and loving and aching –
But I must, by sheer force of will,
Think on your peace in his taking.

I have loved you and will always,
You’re my curmudgeon, my daughter –
This love is what stays, my child,
Long after you are dust and water.