Tuesday, September 3, 2019

Song for a Young Daughter



It's my daughter's birthday today! Here's a poem I wrote for her some time ago:



Song for a Young Daughter  
                                               (after Benjamin Péret)



Oh, my wild bird with the scarlet plume
my pirate strutting across the lawn                      
my grasshopper spitting on my palm
my paprika-scented lily floating in the pond,     
my bruised tune
my scowling moon                     
my da Vinci smile darkening on cue,
my carpenter pounding at a random hour
my spider’s eye
my parrot's bite
my labyrinth of love’s wings
my clinging monkey   
in the jungle where mosquitoes sing—
let me hold your hand
one minute more,
let me pull you close in my long arms.
For you I will learn to bake bread full of fruit,
for you I will knit sweaters
that cannot keep you warm.



"Song for a Young Daughter" was published in Sum Literary Journal.


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