at first i didn t want it her daddy well we didn t fit but i couldn t swing it i was scared to do it alone seventeen and pregnant not what i had in mind her daddy was a farmer but not the wealthy kind i wanted to be a dancer but not the kind that did for pay who was this new person that was getting in my way i could ve walked out left her for dead cut her out with my own hands but something in me was kicking and screaming to live when the world s at stake there are lives to save and even though i shake my hands at god i pray let her have a better life than i can provide lord have mercy on my soul as i try to do her right it took a long long time to understand god s plan for me he threw me down the river beat my flush in kankakee by the time my water broke i was deep in my own debt but when i saw her face it was easy to forget i knew i had to get her away take her to where my debt was paid a new beginning a place i d never been and never seen when the world s at stake all your dreams they change and every step you take is for another s sake and even if she grows to hate me i won t change my course of heart lord have mercy on my soul if we ever grow apart you think that i resent her very being that maybe i regret her ever needing a mother is it wrong that i enjoy to right her i may be rash and overprotecting not bitter i suppose i could be softer i can do better hold you closer i m learning that as i grow older i m the one to forgive when the world s at stake you give your life away and it feels so great to watch the one you saved be the most adoring person your mom has ever known lord have mercy on my soul and let my dreams be all her own when my world s at stake 