this morning a letter was returned
stamped moved no address
it was one i wrote you
a coupleofweeks ago
and itis now in my desk with
otherletters unopened and returned
marked moved no address
i write again becauseimust
ihope my wordswill
find you somehowsomewhere
wherever you are at this moment my dear
god grant you are not alone
i’ve read there are
thousands just like you
searching for something
they failed to find at home
the fact that one of these is my daughter
brings all of them close to me
your mother’s here
standing right behind me
she never could resist looking
over my shoulder as i write
your leaving has been
very difficult for her
a father they say worries about his son but for his daughter he has dreams
well my first dream for you
was sixteen years ago on that day
we brought you home from the hospital
as we stood over your crib
we knew you were something special
in your cry with all your strength
you served notice on the world
that you were someone important
then years later in a moment of anger you cried
‘but you don’t understand’
and i didn’t
why were we never able to unlock your frustration and talk it away
was it because you were being crowded too closely with love
there can be harm now i realize in doing too much
as well as danger in doing too little
a time for holding on
and a time for letting go
someday you too will discover
how much courage letting go takes
your generation asks to be left alone
they want it so that
each may find his own thing
but where is this thing
for which you search
is it found by rejecting your heritage
what you are and can become
has deep roots in many people
your parents your grandparents
and in a long line before them
something in each one
has helped make you what you are
i spoke about dreams
let me tell you of the dreams
another had for you
he was your grandfather
when he was young
he too left his home in search of something
a world of opportunity and freedom for his spirit
and in his way for his time he too was trying to find ‘where it’s at’
somewhere we have a picture of your grandfather
he wore a beard and his hair was long
and there was a girl with him in that snapshot
who wore several strings of beads
and held a single flower in her hand
beautiful people
don’t reject this heritage
i beg you
start with it and you can build something fine and strong
i can see you smiling at this
last bit of cornball philosophy
coming from your square old dad
but think hard about what i’ve said
come back come back before you’re trapped in a life that daily grows more aimless and unreal
with all my heart i wish i could promise you a world of flowers music and dance
but could i keep such a promise
i don’t think so
no one could
but one promise i can fulfill
if you return we three can reach each other by talking and listening
and i mean the kind of listening
that is also tuned to silence
there’ve been many times when i’ve failed to read your silence
for this failure i am truly sorry
mother has remained behind me as i write a second ago
she gently touched my shoulder as she moved away
i took this a silent approval of what i’ve written
she’s now sitting in her chair with an open book in her lap
but i know she’s not seeing the words
her thoughts her thoughts are far away somewhere with you
it’s very quiet here too quiet
i walked into your room last night
and the walls seemed to be asking for the sound of your voice
as much as i am aching for the feel of your embrace
so please come back to us
we love you call collect
Artist: Art Linkletter
Year: 1969
Decade: 60s
Language: en
Word Count: 306