Established Jewish-American poet Linda Pastan has captivated audiences of all backgrounds throughout her fruitful career. Linda has been awarded titles like Maryland's Poet Laureate (1991-1995) and the Madamoiselle Poetry Prize.
"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.
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.
The nostalgic manner of this poem mixed with the caring, parental speaker provides an extremely relatable context; growing up. The speaker of the poem is a parent who loves their child dearly. This love builds throughout the fond, slightly comical memory the parent presents to the reader. The child is leaving home and although the parent is excited and happy for her child, she will miss her...A LOT. The sadness of the situation is saved only for the last two lines because the parent is mostly happy.
No comments:
Post a Comment