Jack Anderson - THE BROWN PAPER BAG

I must go now... My once little girl is putting all her worldly possessions Into a brown paper bag. She is leaving me, I fear. I must go now... In search of love. What can I say to this young woman who wants to love And be loved? Do you say "Wait" You'll find it here, right here... Wait I hold back the tears That might scar our "last goodbye" She'll be back, of course, to say "Hello"... And then "Goodbye", again. But, as I watch her clutch The brown paper bag. As she prepares to leave, I wonder if things will ever, ever be the same. Is this what it's all about? Is that all there is to it? My eyes water as I watch her Get into the battered car. I want to scream: "Come back... Come back, you'll find it here! But then, I am serene again, For my heart tells me: somewhere... sometime... someone... I wonder if she'll ever know How much of me She carries In her brown paper bag.

Jack Anderson

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