Bat Mitzvah

That day on the playground
        We laughed and joked
Smiling because we knew that someday it would come
        It was distant, a hazy dream
But of course we over planned
         Years in advance we
Picked out dress colors and you
         Pretended to recite
Months followed
         The conversation was forgotten
As I watched you grow with me
          We were both learning
You getting ever closer
          The future
Rushing up to meet us
          Faster than I wanted it to
Soon the days of slides and
          Free for all were over as
We started to mature

Today I saw you
         Standing in front of
A group of people who loved you
         I watched as you proved
That you had grown older
         I remembered the chats of
Years ago and I
          Realized how far we had come
You recited perfectly, doing
         Just as well as I knew you would
In that moment I knew
          Throughout all those years
Spent in joking immaturity
           I had your back, and you mine
Sitting on the hard pew
           I congratulated you