Mothers have woven a black velvet ocean And spread it between the night and day shores So that children might sleep, gently rocked by the motion Of waves beneath boats built by fathers like yours With you safe aboard by the shore we will linger And watch as your breathing it fills up the sail You loosen the moorings, your grip on our finger And leave on the velvet a silvery trail Alone on the shore with our heart close to breaking We stand in the wake as you glide from our reach Calmed by the thought that the voyage your taking Will bring you at dawning back safe to this beach We cannot sail with you, be there to guide you Or pilot your boat through the black of the night But no ocean can keep you, no darkness can hide you Away from our love and its undying light