from bumps to bruises

to small sticky dresses,

grass stains on knees

and lots of pink,

she sees the 2 year old.

from racing around the house

and pushes and fights,

the baby learns to deal

with someone new in her life.

she smiles watching the 4 year old.

from making friends

and her kindergarten days,

the guardian angel

wipes a tear away.

watching her girl grow up.

from meeting her best friend

meeting her inspiration,

running into dead ends,

but writes with such elation,

an angel watches her little poet's beginning.

in her 6th year of school

she changed so much.

was no longer a child,

when she met a world of hurt.

as her guardian angel cried for her baby.

now she's in 8th grade,

and she's not sure who she is.

she's growing every day,

and even when she falls

she brushes the tears away

and gets up to try again.

she dyed her hair without permission.

she realized what kind of people

she wanted to know.

she has been hurt more

than she ever dreamed.

but she's still standing

with an angel on her shoulder.

an angel who's loved her from birth,

who knows her secrets,

knows her fears,

has tried to soothe her worries,

has tried to dry her tears.

the angel cried for her baby

when she got her first boyfriend.

the angel cried at her baby's loss

when she broke her own heart.

the angel stood protectively

when she met her girlfriend.

the angel knows what's best,

but sometimes my guardian angel

has to let me steer.

but I know she's there,

sitting on my shoulder.

she loves through the mistakes

and sees the person inside.

Lauren 💛