He’s worried about his daughter
And I think that I know why;
It’s nothing that she’s done, at all,
Except to mystify

The father of a girl, who never
Thought that he would see
So clearly, signs of blooming
Female sexuality.

It’s not that he hasn’t noticed
She’s become a woman now —
It’s that he has – it panics him –
And he is not sure how

He best can shield her, or can even
Really understand:
For every hung-up worry he’s
Encountered, boy or man,

He now imposes on her. Though
Today, she’s full of joy,
He figures that that’s bad somehow;
That there must be some boy —

Oh, fathers, if we only knew
What daughters need displayed:
To love them and believe in them
And not be so afraid —

For sure, they’ll have their madnesses.
But that is all okay –
They need to know that Daddy isn’t
Going to go away —

So do not fight against the years.
They’ll brook no intercepting:
And let the love you show be one
Of pride, and of
Accepting