I’m so sorry, little Callie

For the hurt I can’t prevent

For the tears, the strife, the end to life

Your ardent discontent

How I see you in those children

Smiling, skipping through their day

They’ll be pacified and satisfied

All worries kept at bay

I miss your authentic demeanour

Truth and honesty a must

You observed, ever-perceptive

It was you they loved to trust

How I laugh now, recollecting

What your friend divulged one day

‘Well, not everyone will like you,

They’ll ignore you as they play’

I was crushed then, broken-hearted

Always strove to see the best

Learned to yield and bend and mould

Quite at society’s behest

Wait now, let me cease the process

Please immortalise the girl

With the sparkling stare and windswept hair

Like fresh spring leaves unfurl

Oh, I’m sorry, little Callie

You can’t reach the present day

So I’ll ask you for advice, my love…

I wonder what you’ll say.