Growing

I didn't expect much.

Just a small apology,

or a simple acknowledgment

that what she did

was wrong.

But when I looked into her eyes,

I realized how blank,

how vacant,

the space behind her eyelids seemed.

She didn't recognize that her actions,

or inactions (since that's what they really were)

caused profound repercussions

on those she called loved ones.

Were they really so loved? 

Did she hold these people close to her heart?

Based on how she spoke to them, 

I couldn't be sure.

So I waited and watched,

and wondered what or who

had made her the way she was.

And sadly, in those quiet moments,

I found the answer.

Because her parents scooted in and out

of her life and managed,

in one single instance,

to sweep away her independence.

Always the types to bail her out,

and make excuses for her,

I knew if I said anything at all

about this latest transgression,

they'd have a reason at the ready.

And I wondered,

as I always have,

when she'd extend her arms,

reach beyond them,

and sprout like a bean in the spring. 

But growing just isn't her thing.