Affirmation

He was surprised, when using her bathroom
he saw the note on her bathroom mirror.
"I am smart, funny, capable, and beautiful.
Just because I'm shy does not mean that
I will die alone (and be devoured by feral cats.)"
Returning to her room, he smoothed the quilt
over her shoulder. When they met years earlier
he would have never thought that she was the type
of women who needed to write affirmations
on her bathroom mirror. The more he thought
about it, the more he realized it was her
arrogance--her self-assured walk and her secuirty
in everything she said--that made her attractive. Even during
the last few hours together, she took charge of
the situation admirably. Now he understood that
she was as vulnerable as every other woman he knew.
When she woke the next morning, he was gone.
She rose, dressed, and went to work, without bothering
to read what she had left written on the mirror weeks before.

* * *

Assignment for tomorrow: Write a poem to your daughter. Goal: Stretch beyond the usual topics of my poems.

"No Longer a Teenager"

No Longer a Teenager
my daughter, who turns twenty tomorrow,

has become truly independent.

she doesn't need her father to help her

deal with the bureaucracies of schools

,hmo's, insurance, the dmv.s

he is quite capable of handling

landlords, bosses, and auto repair shops.

also boyfriends and roommates.

and her mother.

frankly it's been a big relief.

the teenage years were often stressful.

sometimes, though, i feel a little useless.
but when she drove down from northern California

to visit us for a couple of days,

she came through the door with the
biggest, warmest hug in the world for me.

and when we all went out for lunch,

she said, affecting a little girl's voice,

"i'm going to sit next to my daddy,"and she did, and slid over close to me

so i could put my arm around her shoulder

until the food arrived.

i've been keeping busy since she's been gone,

mainly with my teaching and writing,

a little travel connected with both,

but i realized now how long it had been

since i had felt deep emotion.

when she left i said, simply,

"i love you,"

and she replied, quietly,

"i love you too."

you know it isn't always easy fora twenty-year-old to say that;

it isn't always easy for a father.
literature and opera are full of

characters who die for love:

i stay alive for her.
— Gerald Locklin