ROSEMARY READS: LOVE YOU FOREVER
    
    

A mother held her new baby and     very slowly rocked him back and forth,      back and forth, back and forth.     And while she held him, she sang:           I'll love you forever,      I'll like you for always,      As long as I'm living      my baby you'll be.
The baby grew. He grew and he grew     and he grew. He grew until he     was two years old, and he ran all around     the house. He pulled all the books     off the shelves. He pulled all the food     out of the refrigerator and he took his      mother's watch and flushed it down the     toilet. Sometimes his mother would say,      "This kid is driving me CRAZY!"
But at night time, when that two-year-     old was quiet, she opened the door     to his room, crawled across the floor,      looked up over the side of his bed;     and if he was really asleep she picked     him up and rocked him back and forth,     back and forth, back and forth.     While she rocked him she sang:           I'll love you forever,      I'll like you for always,      As long as I'm living      My baby you'll be.
The little boy grew. He grew and he grew     and he grew. He grew until he was nine     years old. And he never wanted to come     in for dinner, he never wanted to take a bath,      and when grandma visited he always     said bad words. Sometimes his mother     wanted to sell him to the zoo!
But at night time, when he was     asleep, the mother quietly opened the      door to his room, crawled across     the floor and looked up over the side of     the bed. If he was really asleep,     she picked up that nine-year-old boy      and rocked him back and forth,     back and forth, back and forth.     And while she rocked him, she sang:           I'll love you forever,      I'll like you for always,      As long as I'm living      My baby you'll be.
The boy grew. He grew and he     grew and he grew. He grew until he was      a teenager. He had strange friends     and he wore strange clothes and he     listened to strange music.      Sometimes the mother felt like she     was in a zoo!
But at night time, when that teenager     was asleep, the mother opened the door      to his room, crawled across the     floor and looked up over the side     of the bed. If he was really asleep she      picked up that great big boy and rocked     him back and forth, back and forth,     back and forth.      While she rocked him she sang:           I'll love you forever,      I'll like you for always,      As long as I'm living      My baby you'll be.
That teenager grew. He grew and he     grew and he grew. He grew until      he was a grown-up man. He left home     and got a house across town.
But sometimes on dark nights     the mother got into her car and drove     across town.
If all the lights in her son's house     were out, she opened his bedroom     window, crawled across the floor,      and looked up over the side of his bed.     If that great big man was really     asleep she picked him up and rocked     him back and forth, back and forth,      back and forth.     And while she rocked him she sang:           I'll love you forever,      I'll like you for always,      As long as I'm living      My baby you'll be.
Well, that mother, she got older.     She got older and older and older.      One day she called up her son and said,     "You'd better come see me because     I'm very old and sick."      So her son came to see her.     When he came in the door she tried     to sing the song. She sang:           I'll love you forever,      I'll like you for always...           But she couldn't finish because      she was too old and sick.
The son went to his mother.     He picked her up and rocked her     back and forth, back and forth,      back and forth.      And he sang this song:           I'll love you forever,      I'll like you for always,      As long as I'm living      My Mommy you'll be.
When the son came home     that night, he stood for a long time     at the top of the stairs.
Then he went into the room     where his very baby daughter     was sleeping. He picked her up in     his arms and very slowly rocked      her back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.      And while he rocked her, he sang.           I'll love you forever,      I'll like you for always,      As long as I'm living      My Baby you'll be.