Dear Teenage Daughter,

Imagine a seed
with the potential to change the world
encoded in its tightly packed genetic makeup.
"What kind of change will it be?"
we might mutter as we gently
gently
pack dirt around it using only our fingertips
then spray a mist of water over it
to moisten the soil
then place it on a table in a sunny window.
We read to it, tell it jokes, sing to it.
Wait patiently.
Until one day it reaches through the dirt
toward sky
and the whole world holds its breath
as you climb.