Ode to my Daughter

You are just seven years old and I am so afraid of losing you. Sometimes I don’t know how to show you how much I love you. You force me to be stern. You force me to correct you. On the outside I am strong. On the inside I am so weak. I live in amazement of you. You are beautiful in ways that most people do not know but someday will. I see myself in your eyes and it frightens me. Many of my lessons were learned the hard way. You have it in you to be good, to be wonderful. The dark forces will call your name as they call mine. My only wish is that I can somehow muster the strength and find the power to teach you how to choose well. For now, you are my little girl. You are compassionate, loving, and imaginative. You are cunning, manipulative, and stubborn. Time will pass and I will lose you; I dread death less. Silly rhymes and storybooks will no longer be enough. Your laughter will cease. My head will turn and you will bear the scars of life. As long as my body walks this mortal plane, I will wait with open arms for your return. I will love you, always.