(My lip quivers but I stop myself from
crying- the trick is to tilt your head back,
they return to where they came from.)
If your father chooses to leave you,
don’t curse him. On one hand, maybe your
love wasn’t enough, on the other, the pain was too
much to your surprise.
(My lip quivers but I bite it, I’m trying to
be rational.) What’s your favorite number? Because,
there is a bigger set of infinities between 1 and 10,
than there is between 1 and 9, and my love
was overpowered by infinite pain between 9 and 10, and so
he chose death. Must I really hate him for
leaving me? He saw me living, and he was trying to.
(My lip quivers, the waterfall from my nose tries
polishing my lips, but no, no, I won’t allow a cry.)
Will I really let his selfless acts of fifteen years
crumble against one? Surely not.
(I love you and I always have, these tears-
they do not stop, perennial, as our bond.)