To my daughter by Karen Shepherd

To my daughter

You fly so near the sun, your wax wings drip
unnoticed into hungry seas. I nudge
you towards the shadows. Don’t fear fading light,
be here with me, give darkness what it needs.
Grant harvest just enough so it will leave
without consuming all of you. Heartbreak,
Cascadia shifts, failure: there will be
this dimming. When ignored, it swallows more.
Acknowledge it is there and train your eyes
by moving through it.  Clarity will come.

Let me teach you one more small lesson now
before you have to go. Please hold my hand,
I’ll show you how my eyes will soon adjust
to skies less bright.              
                                   I know you must take flight.

​

Karen Shepherd lives with her husband and two teenagers in the Pacific Northwest where she enjoys walking in forests and listening to the rain. Her poetry and flash fiction have been published in various journals online and in print, but most of her work just lives on her laptop.  Follow her at https://twitter.com/karkarneenee

---