The poem follows a daughter from the joy of her birth to the pressure that slowly takes over her life. It opens with a celebration: gifts, photographs, a feast. Then the tone shifts. Her grades are rated, her character corrected, her smiles undervalued. Growing up becomes a long series of measurements, as if she had to compete against the whole world.
The speaker, who seems to be a mother looking back (the title suggests this), sounds sorrowful and tender. She recognizes that in trying to meet everyone else's standards, the girl lost touch with herself, and no one noticed. The word "connection" suggests that what disappeared was her bond with her own inner self.
The final stanza turns to a wish. The speaker calls her "darling daughter" and hopes she will find her way home to who she truly is. The mood is quiet and regretful, but it ends on a gentle hope for healing.