It doesn’t matter who she is
Her name
Nor father that created this beautiful piece of art
What she’s saying
In all those seconds
Over all that time
Utterly inconsequential
What I study instead
Is her countenance alone
That face
Living, expressing, growing, changing
Yet persisting
And prevailing
As the baby girl
Expressing without words
No words to express
How she is every girl
Every baby grown up
Every stage
Each different
All the same
She is my daughter
My first daughter
My second
She is every girl
I’ve taught over the years
At some point talking
To me
Without me hearing
As
Her countenance alone
Captured me
Raptured me
Entitling me to see, just see
To appreciate
To love
Every stage
Of every girl
Each different
All the same.
A String of Pearls 