My Daughter has a Secret Life

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I wrote a poem. It’s been years since I have written a poem but I thought if I am about to start a degree in English Literature and Creative Writing, it is time I started writing again. I hope you enjoy it.

My Daughter has a secret life, hidden from my view.
She goes to the bathroom and does not return,
even though I long ago, heard the thud of her jump, 
from the step that helps her reach the sink

Task done, but she does not return.
Inspiration, all her own, leads her,
to the small yellow bedroom nest,
where all her precious things are.

It’s the middle of the day, but she wants an outfit change.
From little girl to fairy princess, she does the work herself.
The wings are far too big, so she twists the straps,
and keeps them in place with glittering hair clips,

The girl transformed does not return.
She spots a toy and begins to play.
She’s takes her friends to the shop,
Then tucks them into bed with gentle care.
These are my guesses, I know nothing for sure.
I work it out from the clues I saw

Her wardrobe doors are open; bags and jumpers spilling out,
mingled with the clothes she wore before.
But here, in another corner is deliberate order;
the contents of my dressing table laid on the floor,
in a neat but inconvenient row.

Teddies and rabbits tucked up with a blanket,
nestled snugly in the washing basket.
Once, all she is, lived in me. 
I carried, nourished and birthed her,
Then I carried and nourished a year more.
And now she moves off on her own whim,
Unafraid to be alone,
And I am sneakily greedy of all the signs
her adventures may leave behind

My daughter has a secret life;
Whilst I cook, she creates.
In one room I read, in another she plays.
Before I open my morning eyes, she has enacted a whole epic,
Her toys play their parts, but they all speak with her voice.

Then she is back, in clothes she herself chose,
I hold out my arms and to my body she returns.
I squeeze her tight, kiss her head,
breathe in deeply and let go,
And I know each time she walks away,
she’ll walk a little further,
and stay away that much longer.
Exactly as she should.

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