Lost Childhood

Just an old ramble I wrote a long time ago and hid in a book. Found it recently when I went to reread the book.

What was once a father's rough beard,
scrubbed against a young girl's cheek;
     Affection, a laugh, a sudden dreamy memory;
Now a lover's soft caress,
of his slight, gentle fingertips;
     Affection, a tingle, a sudden dreamy memory.
And yet the tingling affection,
does not fill the void
of the laughter, the fatherly love.
Not even true love can cure the loss
     of a short-lived childhood.