They always said
How much the little girl
Was like her daddy--
The way she stood
Walked 
Movements
Gestures--
Cute when she was small

But the older she gets
The more she takes on
More serious aspects--
My strengths
My weaknesses.

Proud to see her
Strong personality—
Flashbacks to my youth.
Strong-willed
Free in spirit
As a young deer
Kinking up its hind legs
In defiance of constriction.

A free spirit sees
No need for the fences
We build to contain it
To control their so-called
Baser instincts.

In her my strengths are
Magnified-- but oh
So are my weaknesses--
My weaknesses magnified!

Looking at this
Living mirror of myself
Magnifies
Intensifies
A normal father/daughter
Relationship.

I think I see clearly because
I think I know myself so well--
I chastise myself
I condemn my weaknesses
The mistakes I made in my youth.

I look down at me
She looks up to me.

They say she is
So much like her daddy
But she is much more--
Part mama
Part gran
Part grandma
A tapestry of traits
All formed in her
Along with what her social
Environments have
Sown and reaped.

The teenager often sees the
Outward beauty of a
Model or movie star--
Someone is always
Better looking
Someone else always
Has more of something.

I try so hard to make her see
That this is so common
A feeling--
She is above all this
She is not run of the mill.

Time has proved
That I see more
Than what meets the eye
But this knowing
Holds possible dangers--
I can see ahead to
Warn her of trouble
But there are troubles
That she must endure.
Over-protection--
Every parent knows this pain.

I do not want to fail her
But distance grows
Between us when
I monitor her progress
When I push and ****
To make her less like daddy.
She shouldn’t be like me--
I have too many regrets.

I sometimes hear sounds that
I cannot distinguish--
I hear fluttering sounds
That I think are birds
Flying out of the trees
But in reality it is the wind
Blowing high
Through the pines.

I see shadows of strangers
Seeking mischief
Shining bright
Lights at the family tent
In the cold
Half-dream-state
Of the cold night--
But reality says it is
The distortion of the campfire
Through the fabric of the tent.

I cannot always distinguish
Certain sights and sounds
At certain times
But time reveals what
They truly are.

But to bite the tongue
When I wish to scold
Out of season--
To stop focusing on our
Likenesses to the point
Where I cannot differentiate
Between my feelings
Or what I used to feel
And the individual soul
That my daughter is.

They always say how
much she is like her daddy--
Maybe daddy needs to change.

Hey even though I  got 'dem Blues
Ya Mama still loves you
Cryin' I have all night long
Missin'  our  little love  song

Only you know how to thaw my Heart
Oh Daddy - Oh Daddy - yur so Smart!
Sing me Baby our Winter Song
That warms us Honey all Night Long.

(c)DLR
06/07/2024
☀♥ƸӜƷ✿♬

i have skimmed every encyclopedia,
have gone through to limits of every book in biology,
and even went on to read depths of psychology,
but i have yet to find an answer
as to why a father could hurt his own daughter

Tight rope walking
is an art that my man
has perfected.
He sweats only inside
as he risks the fall
in bringing my morning coffee.
No net.
Still he smiles as though
this particular rope
is a lifeline.
A tether?

He could never be
The Boy With The Hair.
No;
My Man Is No Boy.
He dares greatly
clutching a quivering
cup of lifeblood.  
One foot placed carefully
In front of the other
50 feet above
the DMZ each morning
Into enemy territory.
Into me.

The bravest Man I’ve known
is a performer in a circus
where the perks are
landmines
languish
and breakfast with
The Bearded Lady.

Poem Sanged
Daddy.Vibes..(written for someone I know and I feel their pain so)
Listen.. hold me close and not far.. plz. hold me close to you.
Don't reach for me and be too far..
I'm just getting to know you and who you are.
i'm just getting to know you.
Hold me close and not far.
Your the reason why i am who i am.
why some things are the way they are.
So hold me closer.
I want that attention..
Oh must I mention i wanna know you.
I'm calling repeatedly.
I know i don't get answers every time. hold me closer.
But its been way too long.
pick up the phone, your important to me.
and I've waited my whole life long.
To kno who you are mr.
Don't wanna seem desperate
But I'm a part of you, you you and
I wanna get to know you.
Mr. busy busy busy I wanna know who you are
pic up the phone.
I want to hear you talk to me.
Mr. talk to me.. oh I'm still calling you.
Something in my soul.
got me callin you. something in my soul.
got me seekin searching
longin to get to know you.
Mr. Come through..
My Dna has much to say..
its in my soul Mr. see about me..
give a care I pray!

Finding a Long lost pops.
by selinashardaye