Side by Side – Alex’s 11th birthday
How has time changed us?
We never used to be friends,
You the hotheaded daughter,
Me the remote father, uninterested
In tantrums or dolls.
Now, we spend so much time
Together, seriously, with the laughter
That was missing in those early days,
And I don’t know why,
But I am glad of it.
You walk to school and back alone
Now, me at home with my heart
With my heart in my mouth,
Too many questions, as always,
As it will be forever from here,
Waiting for that half an hour alone,
Just you and me, even if you’re
In the other room and we don’t talk,
Because you’re here, back with me,
A daughter and her father, side by side.
Time heals, grows, escapes.
It forms, builds new places for us
To explore. It teaches us if
We’re ready to listen and learn.
That is how we’ve changed.
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