“Daughter” (Original Poem)

If I had a daughter I would tell her to be brave

Like the raw confessions of a sinner or the choices we are too afraid to make

If I had a daughter I would tell her to be aware of both hope and fear

To re-imagine and to listen to the paths of her own mind

If I had a daughter I would tell her to believe in both science and magic

To trust in knowledge but to also understand how little we truly understand

If I had a daughter I would tell her to defend art and culture

But to also look beyond the mediums shaped by fit and form

If I had a daughter I would tell her the broken fragments of society

But also show her the beauty of when paper meets pen, when souls meet friends

If I had a daughter I would show her the greatest depths of her entire world

Which I would hope can be and will be this world.