Daughter

Thomas Turner

I can see you crying
    within your little glass cage.
I wonder if you know
    that I’m here……nearby.
Only a few hours ago
    you were safe and warm,
sleeping vibrantly inside
    your mother’s loving womb.
Now you are wide awake,
    warm, inside your little glass box;
yet you’ve been emptied into a
    new and sometimes cold world.

Even though I stare proudly
    at your soft, tiny body,
somewhere inside, I feel shame.
    I am ashamed of the world
that I have brought you into…
    this world of hate,
this world of deceitfulness,
    this world of pain.
I can only wonder
    what it will be like
raising you and teaching you
    how to survive here.

You have your mother’s eyes –
    deep, blue and glowing.
I’m sure you’ll be just as wise
    and as enchanting as she.
Yet, as I stand here,
    wanting to reach out to you,
I can only wonder
    if you’ll have her strength.
Your mother is so strong.
    she is so pure and sweet.
She has shown me the love
    that I never knew existed.

Our love for each other
    is what gave you life.
I only hope as you grow older,
    true love is what you’ll discover.
But for now, my darling daughter,
    I will just stand here
with this smile of wonder
    and with this gentle loving tear.
I will watch patiently
    as you kick and as you cry.
I will watch you, my sweet new daughter
    and wait for your tears to dry.


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