The thing to remember about fathers is,
they're men.
A girl has to keep in in mind.
They are dragon-seekers, bent on improbable rescues.
Scratch any father, you find
Someone chock-full of qualms and romantic terrors.
Believing change is a threat--
Like your first shoes with heels on, like your first bicycle
It took months to get.
Walk in a strange woods, they warn you about the snakes there.
Climb, and they fear you'll fall.
Books, angular boys, or swimming in deep water--
Fathers mistrust them all.
Men are the worriers. It is difficult for them
To learn what they must learn:
How you have a journey to take and very likely,
For a while, will not return.