Someday there may be smaller footsteps Running softly down the hall A curious voice asking questions About the old bear on the wall I’ll lift you from your place of honor And brush the years from off your side Then kneel beside those waiting fingers And tell the story of our lives Someday I’ll let my child hold you The way I held you long ago I’ll say you kept me safe through darkness And watched me learn and change and grow Your fur may feel a little fragile Your faded colors may not glow But someday I’ll let my child hold you And share the gentlest friend I know I’ll point out every careful mending The ear my mother sewed one night The place your paw became much flatter From always being held too tight I’ll explain that love leaves traces That perfect things are not the best The marks we gain from years of caring Are what make us truly blessed Someday I’ll let my child hold you And trust their arms to treat you well Perhaps they’ll bring you brand-new secrets And add another tale to tell You’ll cross the bridge between our childhoods A thread connecting then and now Someday I’ll let my child hold you And make the same old comfort new Maybe they will choose another A brighter friend that feels their own I will never make them love you Or force your story to be known But I will leave the door wide open For your kindness to begin And if they reach for you when crying I’ll know you found a heart again Someday when bedtime fills the hallway I may look through a half-closed door And see you resting on their pillow Just as you rested on mine before Someday I’ll let my child hold you With all the history in your seams You carried me across my childhood Then waited patiently between And if you guard another dreamer As faithfully as you guarded me Our little story will keep living In a brand-new memory
