No Charge (Rerecorded)

recitation

my little boy came up to me in the kitchen this evening

while i was fixing supper

and he handed me a piece of paper he'd been writing on

and after wiping my hands on my apron i read it

and this is what it said

for mowing the yard... five dollars

for making my own bed this week... one dollar

going to the store... fifty cents

playing with little brother

while you went to the store... twenty five cents

taking out the trash... one dollar

getting a good report card... five dollars

and for raking the yard... two dollars

total owed... fourteen seventy-five

well i look at him standing there expectantly

and a thousand memories flashed thru my mind

and so i picked up the pen

and turning the paper over this is what i wrote

singing

for the nine months i carried you growing inside me... no charge

for the nights i've sat up with you

doctored you, prayed for you... no charge

for the time and the tears that you

cost thru the years... there's no charge

when you add it all up... the full cost of my love is no charge

for the nights filled with dread

and the worries ahead...