He’s loved, protected, safe from harm;
we hold the baby in our arms;
as much for us — we need him too.
The wall went up and no one knew.

He starts to crawl and learns to stand;
we hold the toddler by the hand;
as much for us — we need him more.
The wall is higher than before.

He grows too fast and soon he’s ten;
we hold our youngster now and then;
as much for us — he’ll leave someday.
We keep the wall up anyway.

And now our boy becomes a man;
we try to hold him when we can;
as much for us — a touch of guilt.
He’s seen the unseen wall we’ve built.

Yes, son, it had to be that high.
We wanted you to learn to fly!