For a daughter who might fly away soon
Week 11 of "The Public Domain Poetry Project," using the 11th line of Edna St. Vincent Millay's poem "Travel": "Yet there isn’t a train I wouldn’t take."
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! The host/author/creator says, “The Public Domain Poetry Project is where we deconstruct an older poem by using each line (one per week) as a jumping off point for a brand new poem. Participants are encouraged to share their poems in the comments, or to leave us a link so we can read them elsewhere. If this sounds like fun to you, please consider subscribing for free so you don’t miss next week’s prompt.”You’ve already left us, but just nine miles away to roost in a basement apartment. You work at the law firm with your father picking up báhn mi for your shared lunch break. You’ve spread your wings, but your nest is so near. Yesterday you sent me a school you might like in another state. It’s thrilling to see you want more. But it's far away. You won’t be able to drop by to hold the dog in your lap like a baby and joke about how you gave birth to him. You won’t be able to stop by to watch strange movies with your brothers bickering for an hour about which one to pick. You won’t be able to show up late your music blasting our dark little lane me hovering my window, ready to scold. Yet there isn’t a train I wouldn’t take—a plane— a light rail—an underwater subway haunted by monsters— an oversized Steller's jay flying me, clutched in its crêpy claws— just to see you somewhere you want to call home.
This is so beautiful and so moving ! The beginning of a new journey - for you and your family !!
Love this! My mother use to tell me to go live somewhere interesting so she could come visit. But I think she was happy when I eventually came home again. I'm a big believer in the importance of adventures.