Dear Little Girl in the Picture

Dear Little Girl in the Picture,

Death will grace your heart in a few years, 

pain will find its way into your life through words,

and life will hurt in ways it never should.

But, Little Girl in the Picture,

you will stand your ground in ways you didn't think you could!

You're friends will change and we won't understand why,

we just know that our life is now filled with people who treat us kind.

You'll live through inexplicable pain.

 and grab it by the horns and reclaim it for yourself.

You'll be wiser beyond your years,

and people will listen with open ears.

You'll reclaim those painful words for your own, 

and your eyes will open with stories that you control.

Little girl in the picture, the pain you'll feel,

is nothing compared to how you'll heal.

Nothing compared to the marks you leave on the world,

nothing compared to the love you'll feel,

and nothing compared to how good our life is now.

You'll grow and change,

and run and play,

cry and laugh,

and at the end of the day, 

live each day as if its your last.