Daughter
Daughter
Be Strong.
You are all
of my dreaming
Filled with
the breath
Of a
girl-child.
Be strong
Against my
neediness.
Be your own
self.
My daughter,
I cried
bringing you into
This world,
a baby
Small and
weak.
A girl-baby,
Who’ll
protect her?
Now I applaud
Your fierce
spirit.
I say with
pride,
“She’s
stubborn.”
I stand up
and applaud
Your
independence
I kiss the
tears away
When you
tire and fall.
I lose when
I try
To outsmart
you.
And my heart
aches
As I watch
you
Sprawled
asleep.
Milagros, my
daughter,
Cry all your
tears
And laugh
all your laughter.
Scream all
your pain.
These things
are free
Like rain
and
No one can
take them
Away.
13th November 1992
Song of the Sea
8.5.99
I wish to tell you
the tale and the true, you sang
me a song and that song is you.
Come
and I’ll sing you the song
of the sea. You’ll know by its silence that
that song is me.
You’ll drink in its pauses and drown
in its notes that thrums
on your lips and tickles your throat.
This is the sea
and the strange and the soul
of the quest,
that everyone knows but nobody gets.
This is the song
(the song of the sea)
of the real and the true and the why
that’s in me.
This is the song that is me.
Some Girls
Some girls
stay home at
night
keep their
knees together
tight. Wear
appropriate clothing
for every
occasion. Own pale pink
sweater sets
with add-a-pearl
necklaces.
Save themselves
for the
marriage bed. Never
a rebellious
thought in their head.
Always content
when they turn out the light.
Some girls
do everything right.
Some girls
stay up
late,
give it up
on the very first date.
Curse at
their parents and
run from
cops. Some girls
don’t know
when to stop.
Tease their
hair and wear
tight pants
and tube tops. Hang
with the
boys, drink beer in the woods.
Some girls
are up to no good.
1st September 1997
