Just once I wish I could teach my son
On a summer afternoon
How to pitch and to throw, how to play baseball,
Away from this dark room

Just once I wish I could show my son
His footprints on the beach
And the way that the waves roll up on the sand
Our toes just out of reach

Just once I wish I could hear my son
Laugh at dreams that I once had
He'd smile, look at me and say,
"You know, I love you, Dad."

And as I sit by this hospital bed
And think of the things I wish I'd said
I wish I'd told what he already knew
Just once, "Son, I love you too."

-Lacy Maxwell (1994)