A song for Robert from Anna

[Verse 1]
Robert, you kept every old mower running
For the neighbors up and down our road
Never took a dollar, just wiped your hands
And sent them home lighter than they’d come
You showed me where the water meets the morning
At Miller Lake, before the sun was high
I learned to cast, and learned to wait
With your steady hand beside mine

[Chorus]
Robert, Dad, I still hear you here
In the hush that settles near the window
Robert, your chair is still turned toward the light
And we leave it just the way you left it
March came and took your voice away
But it couldn’t take the love you gave
Robert, Dad, wherever I go
I carry you home

[Verse 2]
Sunday breakfast, coffee on the table
You’d whistle while the bacon browned
Country, rockabilly, folk, and gospel
Little pieces of your heart in every sound
I’d watch your shoulders keep the rhythm
As you flipped the pancakes, easy as could be
Those ordinary mornings made a life
That still keeps finding its way back to me

[Chorus]
Robert, Dad, I still hear you here
In the hush that settles near the window
Robert, your chair is still turned toward the light
And we leave it just the way you left it
March came and took your voice away
But it couldn’t take the love you gave
Robert, Dad, wherever I go
I carry you home

[Bridge]
Some dawns I take the old fishing pole
And watch the first sun touch the lake
I can almost feel you near my shoulder
And hear the small tune you would make

[Final Chorus]
Robert, Dad, I still hear you here
In the hush that settles near the window
Robert, your chair is still turned toward the light
And we leave it just the way you left it
March came and took your voice away
But it couldn’t take the love you gave
Robert, Dad, wherever I go
I carry you home

[Outro]
Your chair stays by the window
Your love stays here with me