Out Of Shape Sonnet

There is an oddity
In you not being just one man’s muse
Any longer.
I have heard the words and songs
Your lover has written for you,
And they are true.

I could never hold a tune,
Never mind write one.

This is not a father’s lament,
Not a pining for the past,
Nor regret at you growing up
Faster than I can remember.

This is one of those tuneless songs of hope
A father scatters out into the universe
Because he wants the best for his child;
Independence,
Success of the non-material kind,
And, above all, happiness,
Happiness of the forever kind.

That’s what this is,
An out-of-shape sonnet from a father
To his growing daughter.

For Kara, on her birthday, 30 March 2013