To A Daughter Leaving Home \u2013<\/p>\n
When I taught you
\nat eight to ride
\na bicycle, loping along
\nbeside you
\nas you wobbled away
\non two round wheels,
\nmy own mouth rounding
\nin surprise when you pulled
\nahead down the curved
\npath of the park,<\/p>\n
I kept waiting
\nfor the thud
\nof your crash as I
\nsprinted to catch up,
\nwhile you grew
\nsmaller, more breakable
\nwith distance,
\npumping, pumping
\nfor your life, screaming
\nwith laughter,
\nthe hair flapping
\nbehind you like a
\nhandkerchief waving
\ngoodbye.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Footnote<\/strong>: \u00a0 Today is also Ash Wednesday in the Christian tradition, the beginning of Lent. \u00a0\u201cLent\u201d suggests that people living in our northern climate chose this Anglo-Saxon word. \u00a0\u201cLent\u201d means \u201cSpring\u201d in Anglo-Saxon. \u00a0In the climate where our city and university live, \u201cLent\u201d can remind me that growing things \u2014 shrubs, trees, grass can look like they are dead when the 40 days begin. \u00a0 It takes a long time, with patient attention, until they prove to us that they\u2019ve been alive after all. \u00a0 Some people choose a twig on a branch somewhere along their ordinary path, to pause very near the twig, standing vigil week after week, letting the twig surprise them in slow motion.<\/p>\n p.s.\u00a0Easter this year is April 1, \u00a0April Fool\u2019s Day. \u00a0 Enjoy these weeks.<\/p>\n a meadow in\u00a0Rocky Mountain National Park<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Wednesday, February 14 Once again, a friend sent me a poem. \u00a0The poet, Linda Paston, writes of delicate surprises that run deeper than first notice suggests. \u00a0 \u00a0Her sensual remembering of an eight year old daughter \u00a0when she dares to … Continue reading ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/170\/2016\/05\/LindaPastan.jpg\")
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\n<\/a>Linda Pastan<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/170\/2018\/02\/meadow-in-Rocky-Mountain-National-Park.jpg\")
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