Rag doll

I made a doll the other day,

Nurtured her with all my love,

Clothed her with my affection,

And dreamed many dreams for her.

Gave her the best money could buy,

A sound education to guide her life,

Trained her to think,

To be independent,

To ask questions,

To follow her heart with courage and conviction

But when she did follow her heart,

And made a choice that fell below my expectations,

When she did stumble on the path I chose for her,

I couldn't help but berate myself.

I couldn't but help regret giving her the wings to fly

Now that she wanted to fly the cosy nest

I had built with nights of wakeful vigilance

Sacrifices made with a loving heart

Criticisms from the world I dammed within myself,

I felt my heart would break when she flew

I felt the fear of the lives I had seen ruined

Cast their shadows over her future

I mourned my love for her, my blinded love

That forbade me from shackling her dreams

When she was dreaming

All I could see was the path she took

Was the path not chosen by me

And it was a path less travelled,

A path less known,

And a path I had little faith in.

And I had not the confidence my princess

Would cover the distance she chose

But somewhere something nagged me

The fear that a wrong decision she made

Would show badly on how I brought her up

So I took back what I gave her,

The confidence she had in my faith

The conviction of her choices

The beacon of her dreams

But at least my doll is with me now

A bit bruised here, a bit bruised there

But at least she will be safe in my embrace

At least she will be happy in my gaze

To measure up, to show off and to love unconditionally again