Grown Child

I awoke from a dream
sweat pouring off me
like steam, it was the
sound I had heard
I thought it might have
been my daughters scream
It is late at night and she
is out in that dark harsh
world, though grown she
is still just a girl.

A thousand crimes
are committed against her
in my nightmares,
I tell her how it scares me
but like youth itself she
does not care. She can
not allow the fears of her
old man to restrain her.
If something happened
to her it would be my
negligence in not making
her see.

Fear not gentle reader
for I love her and know
that she is smart and will
do what is right. I taught
her these things myself,
but knowing that does not
serve to pacify the fears
of a father on a wild hot
summer night.

- by Kelvin Cook