She cried four small tears when she went away Twice cried for each parent... The first at home, when last goodbyes were said That last, alone, she stood, and saw them wave. The first will always have a path to pave, And older heads see pitfalls on the way, But hope, the tremulous makes less afraid, The see the pathway, and the falls evade. The generations now are in replay For those who send, and those who're sent away. The emptiness, the silence that will stay Two sided grief, that undetected lay. There's no going back. In tears they both recoil But hope's the spring that will propel the child.