now that's me...

i have this picture
it's cut from the newspaper
a comic strip really
by a local guy

it's a guy and his mom
sitting facing each other
and both of them
are saying the same thing

i can see you and
i can hear you
yet i cannot comprehend
anything that you say or do

that pretty much sums up
the way things are with
my daughter these days

it would be easier
i think
if she was just spiteful
all the time

but instead
glimpses of that sweet girl
peek through
when i least expect it

and i mourn the loss
of my little girl
again

i remember being
12
it wasn't all that fun
and it was hard

and i'm sure
i took it out on my mom
because she couldn't possibly
know how i was feeling

and now that's me
the one who doesn't know
who can't understand
yet i do

and it's also me
that is supposed to
encourage yet discourage
guide yet allow independence
be open yet closed
set rules yet compromise

and pray

pray hard.