Mama, take him back, I can’t play with him
He’s so tiny, so little, not big like me and Jim.
You said I was getting a new brother
Why, he’s not as big as my pup.
How long do I have to wait, Mom,
For him to grow up
Two years or maybe three
For him to be as big as me?
Well, if I have to, I can wait, I suppose
For him to grow a little and take
The first petal from the Rose.
There’s the ships mast we climbed in search of land —
Never mind that it was just a tree — The view up there was really grand
And we conquered the world, you and me
We fought the Indians, the Germans and he Japs.
We never got tired or bored but we hated it
When Mom made us take our naps,
Then I had to start school —
Not much as an adventure goes
But we began to grow apart as life took
Another petal from the Rose.
I made new friends then, I can’t remember their names
You had the boy down the street — But it asn’t the same.
The world we conquered now had a different look
There were others out there now, not just us
And now it all came from a book.
We started drifting farther apart but then
We were not just brothers now, we were friends,
Life and time began to change us, I suppose
We were going different ways now
Another petal from the Rose.
Time began to fly as we grew apart
Yet the times we shared were close to our hearts.
We hunted and fished and explored the world for real now
And woke to find it really does matter how
We do the things we do, love the ones we love.
For we have our own children now
A new set of friends, I suppose
And time really begins to fly
As the petals drop from the Rose.
We conquered our separate worlds with our children now
But we kept that sharing, caring of brothers somehow.
We did what we could, when we could, as time would allow.
It brought us closer than ever before
These times we shared,
Each minute, every hour meant more
And we knew we cared —
We didn’t always show it, but it was there,
Time became our enemy, as the saying goes
As life continued to take
The petals from the Rose.
Suddenly, we’ve become frail and gray
As the months and weeks pass like days.
I’ve gotten old and fat, you’re thin and bent,
We sit and talk and wonder where the time went.
We still do the things we did
Though not as often or as well
And if you stumbled or I fell
No one sees and we don’t tell
Cause that’s how brothers ought to be
Not just brothers, but friends like you and me.
Time has gotten away from us, I suppose
And there is no stopping the petals from the Rose.
I’m glad you are my brother, glad you are my friend
Life was good to us and if we could, we’d do it all again
Just like before, only a little slower
So we could enjoy it more.
But we know we can’t, we’ve had our time
Our children now take our place. As I sit now and reminisce, I can see it in your face
The love and the care.
I say again, Thanks, my Friend for all that we have shared
The time has come to say goodbye, I suppose
And brother dear, let MY tear
Take the last petal from the Rose.
© 1997, David B. McCurley