Disclaimer: My poem, no one else’s. And you better not make it yours either.

Author’s Note: This was inspired by my friend – she knows who she is. Anyway, this goes out to her :) And in the first line, I mean “still” as in literally “still.” Y’know, things aren’t changing and all that. Doesn’t make much sense at all, but who cares.

It is a scarce day still

and still, even right now,

I can’t believe that you’re 15

All grown-up,

and barely a year left before

you take the wheel yourself

without any more directions from me

and drive ahead

leave the house

to a new life

– and quite possibly

never return

You sit in the shotgun now,

looking calmly out the windshield

arms crossed

blonde/brown hair framing your face

thinking about something

I pull out of the driveway

and head over to the high school parking lot

where, today, I’ll give you my last driving lesson

and then give you the steering wheel

with no regretful thoughts

We switch places

You in the driver’s seat

and me taking the shotgun

You rev the engine up

the anxiety and nervousness clear on your face

but you don’t admit it –

Now we’re circling around the nearly empty parking lot

Every once in a while giving you directions, advice

Then you take a sharp left turn

and my head nearly explodes from the nostalgia of it all

Memories fill, burn my mind –

You at three, wearing a red summer cap on your head

looking like a little tomboy

Among other precious memories that I locked up forever

to keep in my mind –

A school play at age 10

Getting bullied at age 13

Realizing your own identity and place in the world

which was a painful experience for all five of us

As we come to a stop at a corner

underneath a lamplight

I’m left to wonder

When are you going

to the point of no return?

You were brought into this world

15 years ago

Naïve, innocent

knowing nothing at all about the world and its ways

But gradually as time passed,

minute after minute,

hour after hour,

month after month,

year after year,

You started to learn more and more

And even now, you’re still learning

about halfway through your lifetime

My heart deflates

knowing that one day soon

you’re going to be gone

Never to come back

just like a star

Or a supernova –

One moment, here

The next minute, gone

Yet I know that you’re excited about it

Deep inside, no matter how calm you look

You know what the funny thing is?

“Hm. What?” you reply,

“The same way we taught you things,

you taught us some things.”

“That’s a gift, you know,” I continue. “A daughter’s gift.”

At that you turn to me and laugh.

“Oh, Dad!” you exclaim.

But you can’t deny it,

the same way I can’t deny it.

You’re growing up,

things change

Yet you’ll always remain

my daughter.

Looking back now, I can’t help but smile and think

that now you’ve gone off to college

Three years later,

Nothing’s really changed at all

Even though you’re far away from us

far away from home

Even far away,

You still have your gift.

A daughter’s gift.