Listen! Crying in the kitchen and hollering in the hall
Eight eyes rolling up so sharply, irises get lost
Deep dramatic sighs of simmering discontent
Mix with muttered murmurs of imminent mutiny
From the other side of the house, a door slams
Knocking the picture frames and our smiles askew
Teenage daughters, my four darling divas, dance
Mom’s locked herself in the bathroom, last solitary stronghold
Sitting in the bathtub, sobbing, she scrolls through her feed
Full of her friends’ smiling families of fresh faced toddlers
Dad’s deep in the kitchen wasting reason on teenage wrath
To the daughter who just couldn’t, simply wouldn’t hold her tongue
Explanations ’bout respect and apologies meeting stone
The other three teens slink away behind doors for shelter
Escaping the undertow of dad’s growing ire and mom’s tears
Teenage daughters, my four darling divas, dance
The sun rises again on a full house ripe with silence
Cautious girls ease open doors wearing frozen wide masks
Eyes sweep the floor rather than meeting each other
Teeth are brushed, faces washed, hair combed out
So much simpler to craft a face presentable to the world
Than to draw an apology out of the pregnant air
Teenage daughters, my four darling divas, dance
