Dear Daughter, when you receive this letter
It will be my last, no more will I write,
So cherish this letter Dear Daughter
For I am weary and late is the night.

Dear Daughter, when you open this letter
Please keep this thought in mind,
I love you and I forgive you
You will be my  darling daughter,
until the end of time.

Dear Daughter, when you read this letter
In the contents you will find,
My feelings expressed on paper
My words are not meant to be unkind.

I want you to know what it was like
Living in a Nursing Home,
 Rocking in a rocking chair
Feeling so useless and so alone.

I know you wrote to me , Dear Daughter
But paper can't take the place of a hug,
From a daughter that I love so,
To whom I have given all my love.

As the dawn brings forth a new day
Many residents are preparing to see,
Their cherished family member
How I wish you would come to see me.

I know that you visit me Dear Daughter
But they are few and far between,
I cherish your every visit
Please do not think that I am mean!

Some visitors would pass me by
Some would look at me and smile,
Some would stop to chat with me
And keep me company for awhile.

I can see the pity in their eyes
Questions must be on their minds.
Do this lady have any family?
Why do they treat her so unkind?

Where are you my darling daughter?
Why do you not come?
To visit your dear old mother
What harm to you have I done?

I will end this letter Dear Daughter
For I am weary and I am weak,
My heart is heavy laden
The time draws nigh for me to sleep.

With sorrow deep within her heart
The daughter's grief was too much to bare,
A dam broke forth from her eyes
Flooding her face with tears.

Her body trembled as she sobbed
I feared her heart would break,
For she knew that she did wrong
For her , it was too late.

Too late to say, "I love you."
To her mother who was now gone,
Too late to say, "I am sorry."
For staying away for so long.

For her mother all these years have waited
For her daughter to visit her there,
In the Nursing Home where she left her
For all those lonely, lonely years.

 By: Yvonne Legge