When I Was Small

When I was small and very small My father took me many places He showed me where the eagle nests And sunlight shines on mountain's faces When I was small and very small My father's strength was belt and braces He was my shelter, I was blessed He steered me, light hold on the traces When I was small and very small My grandmother held all the aces Her love was copious, unrepressed Her ways were kindly, full of graces When I was small and very small My mother tightly tied my laces And taught me I must keep suppressed The childish ways that brought disgraces When I was small and very small I liked to hide inside bookcases And step in thought off on a quest To other worlds, and dreams, and races