Nine Years Old

At the dark dawn of my daughter's 9th birthday

I sit by candlelight

Warming myself in my own thoughts

Reflecting upon our past

I held her the first moments of her birth

And cut her umbilical cord

She has grown so much since then

And yet she is still so small

I kept her wrapped tightly upon my pillow

I taught her to walk and how to talk

Her love is so pure

Her innocence unspoiled

I can ask no more from life

Than to be by her side

And to be loved by her

In her own joking manner

I know her world is not my own

Her world is far better than my own

In every way

When I finally pass

I will still be with her always

And she will still be with me

And that will be enough

For both of us