Someone Goes With Me Poem by Gillian Commerford

Someone goes with me
wherever I go
never leaves my side
sits beside me when I eat
or read
or watch TV
walks with me
joins me in the bath at night
clasps me when I sleep.
She is someone I can never forget
or deny
the child I was
and still am.
Sometimes she is playful
sometimes she is sad
she looks at me
with yesterday's eyes.
We have shared tears
dreams
laughter
been slapped
tickled
bullied
humiliated
tried to make sense of the world
together.
She has retained her innocence
mine I fear is gone.
We hold to each other
for comfort
we hold to each other
for love.
I admire her courage
her persistence
the way she kept on
after every defeat.
The tears that she shed
are dried up in me
the things that she longed for
are not what I long for
her dreams and ambitions aren't mine-
but she walks with me
wherever I go
I wonder what she could have been
if I'd let her grow.