I Am the Daughter

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My father is not the biological father of my siblings So I am the bridge, I am the link in the family I, alone, carry his blood, so it is all the more poignant, and painful that I am the daughter who disappoints I am the daughter who didn't join the Navy who didn't graduate from college who didn't marry a military man who didn't give him a grandson I am the literature-loving daughter of the man who can not abide books, the man with no patience for poetry or art or music (excepting Johnny Cash) I am the (usually) alcohol-abstaining daughter of the man who can not seem to show affection without the buzz of beer in him I live in the land of rain He has retired to sunnier plains Still we share the same face And, for thirty four years, the same last name I see in me his stubborness the same silent avoidance of problems and pain the same wanderlust the same silly habit of leaving keys in the door Of hating to wait in airport lounges, in doctor's offices the same scribbly handwriting the same distaste for celery and peppers For better or worse I am not me Without him. 7/15/18

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Sigrid Ermine

Date: 8/10/2020 5:38:00 AM

Exploring poems of yours, Michelle. Full agreement with all comments. A candid account. The set up, details, guilt, discrepancies and similarities inescapable told with rawness and finesse.

Gershon Wolf

Date: 7/30/2018 7:43:00 PM

I absolutely adore this poem. It's simply a wonderful roller-coast write (ride) of the unbridled truth. And there's nothing finer than a glimpse of the TRUTH, this world of illusion and delusion we inhabit. Bravo! You should be very, very proud of this one, Michelle. Best wishes, Gershon

Michelle Faulkner
Date: 7/31/2018 2:49:00 PM

Now, as an adult, I try to see both sides of the picture, and (try to) avoid being too narrow or shallow-

Bartholomew Williams

Date: 7/16/2018 9:48:00 AM

Michelle, thank you so much for sharing this introspective, personal, and truly moving piece. I appreciate your candor about your connection with your father. You both have my most sincere best wishes for reconciliation, peace, and happiness. All good things to you. :) Bartholomew

Michelle Faulkner
Date: 7/16/2018 6:23:00 PM

Thank you for your lovely comment - and we still talk, we are just not that close.

Caren Krutsinger

Date: 7/15/2018 8:58:00 PM

Whoa! Hold the horses. This poem rouses so many feelings in me; I have to tell you I look in the mirror every day, laugh and say "Hi Dad," and see so many things that unite us on a subconscious level. This poem made my heart leap with joy, for the feelings are so heartfelt and real.

Michelle Faulkner
Date: 7/16/2018 6:21:00 PM

You must have a closer relationship with your father than I have with mine-