1
I remind my daughter to
make her mother a card
for Mother’s Day. Something
nice, I say, make it when
you’re not mad at her.
2
To be a good father you must bleed
a trail from silence to work ethic,
something to scrawl on the divorce papers
in place of your name. Everyone has
some great advice that’s never touched air.
3
My father spent his long days
drinking to escape his forgotten life.
Eyes always cast out over the waters
of tomorrow, he never had anything
to say even about the weather.
4
After her divorce, my mother stayed
to convalesce at my father’s house.
As she drifted further from home in
her mind, she sat for long hours, staring
out the window, just past the television.
5
I wonder if I’ll get anything for my
birthday this year, I say while driving
my daughter back to her mother’s.
My daughter stares out the window
at something I’ve forgotten how to see.