In thinking of my eldest daughter as she starts edging her way toward adolescence:

A Young Girl Becoming
by Michael Romani

Sometimes her world is mind numbing
As a young girl busily becoming
Everything that she's meant to be
In all of her sense and sensibility

Social media feeds her headlong
As she's just beginning her life's song
She is inundated with the limitlessness
Her fascinated eyes drinking in all of this

I'm helpless as a father looking on
Hopelessly hoping I have served her well
There will come a day when I'll be gone
And only time will ever really tell

There are moments and emotions in excess
That flow about sometimes causing distress
At times, she shyly, awkwardly makes her way
Concerned in how she comes off in what she says

Feeling at times like there is an invisible scorer
As she walks this world in pre-adolescent horror
Sometimes it amazes me to know all her interactions
While I watch her learning with all of her connections

I'm helpless as a father looking on
Hopelessly hoping that I have served her well
There will come a day that I'll be gone
And only time will ever really tell

Though often accused of lacking empathy
There are times I quietly grimace in sympathy
I watch her eyes shimmer with excitement and hurt
As I look on wishing for wisdom without hitting pay dirt

I'm helpless as a father looking on
Hopelessly hoping that I have served her well
There will come a day when Ill be gone
And only time will really ever tell

(c) Michael Romani  July 13, 2018
All Rights Reserved