The Rose

"The Rose"

Some say love, it is a river
That drowns the tender reed.
Some say love, it is a razor
That leaves your soul to bleed.
Some say love, it is a hunger,
An endless aching need.
I say love, it is a flower,
And you its only seed.

It's the heart afraid of breaking
That never learns to dance.
It's the dream afraid of waking
That never takes the chance.
It's the one who won't be taken,
Who cannot seem to give,
And the soul afraid of dyin'
That never learns to live.

When the night has been too lonely
And the road has been too long,
And you think that love is only
For the lucky and the strong,
Just remember in the winter
Far beneath the bitter snows
Lies the seed that with the sun's love
In the spring becomes the rose.

I've been singing this to Nathan every night for the past few weeks.  I had forgotten about it until Jon and I planted the rose he gave me for Valentine's Day in our front flower bed, and then I remembered this song and how true it is.  He seems to like it, probably because of the melody repetition and the rhythm, but I'm hoping the words sink in too.  I want him to learn to live fully, to love deeply and to understand that, the same way the rose has to survive the bitter cold of winter, we sometimes have to survive difficult times in our lives in order to truly become the person we are supposed to become.  And that those difficult times are only for a season, and the spring will come.