i want to nurture the little girl inside of me
the one that held my mothers hand when she crossed the road
and asked for my aunt to play katy perry from the back carseat

i come from a family of women
who fed me girlhood on a silver spoon

sometimes it was hard to swallow
sometimes it was bitter to the taste
but i clenched my fist and allowed myself to bathe in the flavor

i watched my grandmother smile, and i could still see the little girl inside of her peering out through her kind eyes
girlhood has not destroyed her,
girlhood has made her strong.

i hope i age just as beautifully as her,
and that the skin lines around my mouth tell stories to my children about all of my laughter throughout the years,
that they can see how many times that my palms have been held,
that they can see the endurance of womanhood through my body just as kindly as they see the endurance of girlhood
i hope they can see that the little girl inside of me still looks out into the world with innocence and purity, rather than with anger and resentment

i watch her, and i welcome age with a sweaty palm, for hope that when my years have passed, i will glance into my vanity
and see a resemblance of her
and a resemblance of all of the strong women that i come from

for womanhood and girlhood are one in the same, and i open my palm to reach for the silver spoon.