Faces in the crowd,
Nameless, peering through me,
Recognizing every minute flaw,
Silently laughing,
They whisper behind cupped hand,
Eyes dart in my direction then away,
Not so very subtle,
They think I’m oblivious,
But I see them,
I know what they are thinking,
I know what they are saying,
These things are not who I am,
One look in the mirror bears this out,
My reflection is unique,
Beholden only to me,
Blonde hair,
A shade unlike any other,
Ivory skin,
Imperfect, but my own,
Neither stick thin nor tall,
Comparisons to runway models are unfair,
Artificial life forms,
Moulded from botox and silicone,
Airbrushed to flawless perfection,
Idols born of magazine covers and centerfolds,
An unrealistic expectation for any young woman,
To live up to this cosmetic fraud is impossible,
Beauty is only skin deep,
Physical and momentary,
I am so much deeper than the shallowness of this pool,
If you could only see my essence,
The storm raging inside me,
Hopes, dreams, passions, opinions
Swirling like a typhoon,
A perfect storm,
Waiting to erupt with explosive force,
Breaking out of this cocoon of fear,
Leaving shards of this scared little girl,
In pieces on the floor,
Rising out of the wreckage,
A stronger more self-confident woman,
Able to speak for myself,
Defend my views,
Hold my head high in the face of adversity,
To cower no more,
Behind a mask of insecurity,
My opinions matter,
Commanding respect,
Regardless of whether we disagree,
I am an equal,
And I demand to be treated as such,
No longer subordinate,
My age, race and gender should have no bearing,
Yes, I may fall, but I will not break,
Yes, I may occasionally fail, but failing does not signal inadequacy,
I will sprain and bruise,
Scars left as reminders of experience gained,
But you must grant me this right of passage,
Allowing me to grow and become independent,
Crawling out from under my parents wings,
To stand unaided as if for the very first time,
An infant in a brave new world,
Opened up to be lived and explored,
I will voice my politics,
This is now my right,
Using my vote to shape the world I live in,
Unafraid to stand up,
Even when ridiculed by those of differing views,
This is their right as it is mine,
I will pay them no head unless civil,
Extremists hold no sway over me,
My hopes and dreams stand before me,
With open arms waiting to embrace,
I have the power of mind and body,
To grasp and hold all that I desire,
Be it business, education, the helping of others,
All these things are within my reach,
It is not for you to determine my passion,
You do not live within me,
But you benefit by my being,
I will break out of this shell,
Becoming all that life has endowed in me,
If I will just let me go.
~
~~ Dominic R. DiFrancesco ~~
Dom DiFrancesco 
Very motivating, and great words.
Thank you very much.
What a really great poem about your daughter. You touched on so many things that come with a young girl growing into a woman. This is very well written.
Thank you so much. I wasn’t quite sure that I captured it with just my observations, but it seems that I at least came close.
❤ it is beyond hard, to be a girl in the unfair images of today's society. Nice work.
Thank you very much. This one was more difficult having absolutely no first hand experience with these issues, but I can see how hard it is and could only imagine what it must be like to have to go through it. I so very glad you liked it.
this is incredible! what a wonderful piece to write for your daughter. so empowering and loving. I really love the line “You do not live within me, But you benefit from my being” – this is priceless.Wow, i am in awe:)
Thank you so much. I wrote this piece back in January and wasn’t sure whether I should post it or not, but after waiting and rereading it yesterday, I thought I had captured her pretty well. I’m very glad that you liked it.
Perfect to the very last line.
Thank you very much, I appreciate your kind words. 🙂
I wish more Fathers felt this much respect towards their daughters, mine definitely did not. She is lucky to have a Father like you.More men should treat the women in their life this way. It was very poetic and beautiful. It sends a very strong message to woman-in fact i am going to re-post this on my blog. Thank you so much for sharing-emily
Thank you Emily for re-posting my poem, I really do appreciate it. Although I haven’t gone through what she has gone through I see it and can certainly understand how difficult it must be, this ideal of female perfection that does not exist, but is put on women anyway. It just shouldn’t be that way. I’m would imagine that most girls and women have been put under this terrible microscope at one time or another in their lives and I feel really bad about that as it is men mostly, that have done it.
you are a very wise person to be aware of that inequality double-standards.Like, i said before, i wish more men accepted your position. very few do.
Thank you for saying so, I try to be for the benefit of my girls. 🙂
you seem like a very kind and wise person, i am sure you are an excellent father. They are lucky not everyone is good at fathering-its a skill.
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“I have the power of mind and body,
To grasp and hold all that I desire,”
my favorite lines
Thank you Paul, I’m so glad that you liked. I know that it was a long poem and really appreciate you taking the time to read it.
A father’s love for his daughter is truly one of a kind. This shows how much you are in tune with someone near & dear to you.
Thank you so much RoSy, I appreciate your very nice compliment.