Crawl In

Footsteps

A knock

Then next to the bed

Does my frightened young daughter appear, and say

"I'm scared, Papa

A nightmare woke me up and I can't sleep

Could I sleep with Mama and you?"

"Crawl in my darling

It's nice and warm, and there's plenty of room

And that dream won't be harming you here"

And so we sleep

And hold back the demons and ghosts till the morning arrives

They seem to flee more easily

Faced with a foe like the three of us there

Side by side

"Of course my darling

Just sqeeze in between us, here's a pillow for you

And don't worry now darling, don't fear"

The mother we run to, the lover we cling to

The bedside we seek in the night

It's a walk down the hall that we make when we're small

And we make for the rest of our lives

And at dawn, with our clothes

We put on our best brave faces and go our separate ways

And hold fast to the hope

That at the day's end, we can put them away again

And hear someone say

"Crawl in my darling

It's nice and warm and there's plenty of room

And bad dreams won't be harming you here

Crawl in my darling

Just squeeze in between us, here's a pillow for you

And don't worry now, darling, don't fear"