..So you remember what you look like.
Mama, I know what I look like.
..So that you remember how you felt.
Mama, I'm not going to forget how I feel!
Oh, but baby you might.
Someday you may look in the mirror and doubt what you see.
Someday you may feel a little less brave, a little less beautiful, a little scared, a little less.
Someday.
Someday you may watch the way someone else walks, the way they laugh, the way they think, the way their hair falls differently than yours and you will pause.
You will wonder if maybe what you see is better. You will wonder if the wild tangle of your curls should be smoothed and your hips narrowed. You will wonder if you are too loud, too sensitive, too much. Or perhaps not enough? Not enough to be seen, not enough to be valued. Not enough.
You will wonder if I was wrong. You will wonder if you aren't beautiful and brave after all. In fact you may convince yourself of it. And you will grow quiet.
And then, my love, I will be there to remind you.
I will remind you that you were born free and capable. That all the beauty and bravery and strength you will ever need was already there, tucked inside this tiny body perched on the edge of a dock worn with memories, wrapped in that tiny, navy blue tank top.
I will remind you that you were always beautiful.
If you forget.
