Thursday, July 19, 2007

To a Daughter Leaving Home


To a Daughter Leaving Home, by Linda Pastan

When I taught you
at eight to ride
a bicycle, loping along
beside you
as you wobbled away
on two round wheels,
my own mouth rounding
in surprise when you pulled
ahead down the curved
path of the park,
I kept waiting
for the thud
of your crash as I
sprinted to catch up,
while you grew
smaller, more breakable
with distance,
pumping, pumping
for your life, screaming
with laughter,
the hair flapping
behind you like a
handkerchief waving
goodbye.

1 comment:

rosemary133 MSN said...

Biking2006,   Beautifully written, so true to life. Thanks for sharing.