for my father

Dad

You told me

"Daughter,

If you put your mind to it,

You can do anything."

And somewhere between the training wheels

And training bras

And hair dyes and boys

And lies and The Virgin Suicides

You forgot you said that to me

Your young woman daughter

And today

You saw that my room was not military clean

Not pristine

The way you insist all women should keep their rooms

You threw the broom

At my face again

Screamed so loud the neighbor's dogs stopped barking

To listen to you the way I always have to

And I

I held in the tears like I always do

Letting the bile build and burn in my throat

Smoldering just under my head

Letting you bask in my eternal defeat

As you threw yet another fit

"You Fathers

Do not be irritating your children"

Never applied to you I guess

Not when you threw me across a room

Not when a wine glass collided with my floor

For me to walk on in the middle of the night

No

Mother knows best? No

Father knows all

Knows everything

But he forgot that I

I am his daughter

And today when he told me

"Just go"

He knew I couldn't.

So I did.