Pearls for My Girl

If I have a little girl I’ll sit her down on my lap 

While the setting sun bids us goodbye 

And as she buries her face in my shirt, I’ll whisper these words :

Now child, if they say you run like a girl..

That means you run with all your might, and don’t stop until you reach the finish line

If they say fight like a girl,

That means you punch and kick until someone lands on the ground

If they say you walk like a girl..

That means you walk with your head held high 
Your eyes staring dead in the world’s face and holding its gaze
 No matter how scary it looks

When my little girl grows a little older, we’ll sit in the kitchen and sip tea

And I’ll allow her to stand on my shoulders for a few minutes 
Look through the rusted window; peek into my past

I’ll tell her that she is a beautiful mosaic worth keeping whole

That the broken shards are hard to glue back together once she’s been shattered by those “prince charmings”

I’ll tell her that true love is

Kind, not-self seeking, not deceitful

I’ll tell her that she is not just hair, and eyes, and hips, and thighs

She is a brilliant mind, a warm smile, a generous heart

I’ll tell her that patience is a virtue

And genuine love is worth the wait

I’ll tell her not to toss  her pearls to pigs

And when she becomes a woman

I’ll tell her that motherhood is a sacrifice

That though she feels weak, she is strong

That the tears  moistening her pillow and coming down like bullets

The blood spreading like red wine on the white bed sheets 

The pain etched on her face

Will soon melt away when she cradles that squalling child

And long after I am gone, when her hair turns silver-gray like the moon

I hope she will remember all that I have told her

And let out a sigh of relief, knowing that she is not just a woman

But a queen

Pearls for My Girl was featured in
  Love Letters to Our Daughters: A collection of Womanly Affirmations

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