If I Am to Have a Daughter

If i am to have a daughter
i will not tell her that being a princess isn't realistic and
i will not tell her that her homework needs to be done before dinner
because if she wants to be friends with Ariel then she damned well will be
and if she's hungry she'll eat until her round tummy is satisfied

If i am to have a daughter
i will not lie and say that my scars make me strong and
i will braid her hair when she asks because
those scars are not battle scars, they are wounds that still open from time to time and they need to be handled with care, just like her
and braiding her hair takes two minutes, five on a rushed day, and if it makes her happy then i'll be late for work

if i am to have a daughter
i will teach her to never be afraid of anyone because the world is hers
and i will teach her that, yes, her mother is afraid of her growing up but she is not afraid to walk into battle with her
because her soul is on fire and so is mine

if i am to have a daughter
i will tell her to befriend the shy kids at school who read for fun because they're lonely
and one day she will be lonely too
and when she pushes me away because i'm too clingy and i can no longer help her expand her horizons
those lonely kids at school will be there for her and bring her back from a land where skeletons litter the ground

if i am to have a daughter
i will promise her that, much like mine, her hands will be as scared as her heart by graduation
because some people will feel like gentle scrapes and others will feel like cuts that need stitches and that's okay
because, baby, you have to let people in

if i am to have a daughter
i will hold her on days when she's down
even if she hasn't fit in my lap for years
and i will ignore the pain in my legs because she's safe here and i know that as much as she does

if i am to have a daughter
i will tell her that the rain will fall from her fingertips and
i will teach her that she must be careful because, while some people need a bit of water to grow
others are already drowning