My Daughter's Hand

**

I took my daughter by the hand...
We raced to greet the sun...
I didn't sweep the porch today,
But I remembered how to run.

We traced the fence line by the lake
And watched the polliwogs...
Now she knows how tadpoles
Turn into happy frogs.

She reached her hands up to the sky,
A swallow fluttered by...
She flapped her tiny wings...
So sure that she could fly.

I didn't wash the dishes...
My bed, it went unmade.
But we saw some Easter Lilies
And we danced and sang and played.

She watched a pretty butterfly
Emerge from its cocoon...
My daughter's changing also
And growing all too soon.

You see, she is the butterfly...
A vibrant summer rose...
Her youth is such a fleeting thing.
Just like the wind that blows.

I didn't do the laundry...
I didn't sweep the floor,
Because my little girl needs me...
To Wonder...Dream...Explore.

I didn't clean the house today...
I didn't clear the chairs;
In twenty years, no one will
know or even care.

But I have helped my little girl
To a gracious woman grow.
In twenty years, the whole wide world
Will turn their heads and see, and know.

**