Yesterday, against admonishment,
my daughter balanced on the couch back,
fell and cut her mouth.
Because I saw it happen I knew
she was not hurt, and yet
a child’s blood’s so red
it stops a father’s heart.
she was not hurt, and yet
a child’s blood’s so red
it stops a father’s heart.
My daughter cried her tears;
I held some ice
against her lip.
That was the end of it.
I held some ice
against her lip.
That was the end of it.
Round and round: bow and kiss.
I try to teach her caution;
she tries to teach me risk.
I try to teach her caution;
she tries to teach me risk.
From The Caged Owl: New and Selected Poems (Copper Canyon Press, 2002).
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