Message For My Daughter

I will not be there
when you are the age I am now—
this we must face.

I waited to have you
for reasons that are old rags of memory
from clothes I wore before you.

In today’s mirror I see you,
orphaned,
in your diaphanous future—
thin skin, fragile hair,
eyes faded.

I know how it will be.

There will be that subtle shift
when the time you’ve lived
is longer
than the time you have left.
Do not be frightened.
The time remaining is the richer—
thirsty silk in a bath of wisdom,
whose color grows deeper
the longer it soaks.

You will be tempted to mourn
the brilliant shield of youth.
It was never yours to keep.
In your jewelled raiment of wisdom,
surrender it.

They will throw over you
the cloak of invisibility;
Beauty’s power is always ceded.
Put on the silver breastplate
of confidence
that cannot be taken from you.

You will remember the times I hurt you
and you, in your generous spirit,
will forgive me even if you do not now.

You will remember the times you hurt me,
and you will struggle to forgive yourself.
Know that I did, immediately.

In your future mirror
you will see me in you,
and know:
am still with you.

“Lisa.Too”by ДианаЯкубовская is licensed under CC PDM 1.0

Patricia Thrushart

Patricia Thrushart has published two books, Little Girl Against The Wall, and Yin and Yang. Her work appears regularly in The Watershed Journal, a regional literary magazine of Northwestern Pennsylvania, and on the websites Dark Horse Appalachia and North/South Appalachia. Her poems have been published in Tiny Seed, The Brookville Mirror, Clarion University’s Tobeco, The Avocet, Still Point Arts Quarterly, The Pittsburgh Post Gazette, and The Pennsylvania Poetry Society’s Magazine PENNESSENCE. She is an active member of the local writers’ community, presenting workshop sessions and participating in live poetry readings.

Written by 

Patricia Thrushart has published two books, Little Girl Against The Wall, and Yin and Yang. Her work appears regularly in The Watershed Journal, a regional literary magazine of Northwestern Pennsylvania, and on the websites Dark Horse Appalachia and North/South Appalachia. Her poems have been published in Tiny Seed, The Brookville Mirror, Clarion University’s Tobeco, The Avocet, Still Point Arts Quarterly, The Pittsburgh Post Gazette, and The Pennsylvania Poetry Society’s Magazine PENNESSENCE. She is an active member of the local writers’ community, presenting workshop sessions and participating in live poetry readings.

One thought on “Message For My Daughter

  1. These lines are rich in the wisdom of the understanding parent–female or male. Fine piece:
    In today’s mirror I see you,
    orphaned,
    in your diaphanous future—
    thin skin, fragile hair,
    eyes faded.
    I know how it will be.
    There will be that subtle shift
    when the time you’ve lived
    is longer…

    the time you’ve lived
    is longer
    than the time you have left.
    Do not be frightened.
    The time remaining is the richer—
    thirsty silk in a bath of wisdom,
    whose color grows deeper
    the longer it soaks

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