His Plea by Stephen Scholle

Sitting with a dear old friend talking over coffee
His worried frown concerned me and I hinted
Is something going on here, I see worry in your eyes
Is it what we talked about last time we met
He looked me in the eye and in a tired voice he told me
I've been struggling what to tell her, I'm not sure I want this sent
Then he handed me the letter... and this is what it said

This is a plea to stop chewing on the legs that take our daughter
to the open spaces and very places
that you and I both wish for.

Speaking as your ex there’s an untended consequence
to too much parental guidance.

When you correct her
When you coerce her
When you question and reverse her
It subjects her to doubt
Makes her nervous without
the validation that you and I both wish for.

The complications it creates and the tensions it imposes
underestimates her freedom to relate.

So the question that I’m posing
And I know that I’m imposing ...is,
Can you notice when the tensions that are driving your intentions
Actually subvert the very goals that you and I both want for her?

With all due respect, I really did expect
that you’d understand the effect of what you sometimes say to her.

Let’s keep alive the chance for her
to learn and strive and dance, for
It’s what you and I both want for her.
It’s what you and I both want for her.

I look forward to your answer.

• Acoustic
• Blues
• Frontier Americana
• Jazz ballad
• Singer-songwriter
• Swing
• Hartsdale