12.14.2009

inked

i turn the soft side
of a forearm to face my father
cursive ink sunk into skin as white
as when we first met

well its small enough to hide
he says picking up his fork again
as i unroll the sleeve in silence
peer through the distortion
of my glass for dissapointment.

if only it were all as easy
a layer turned back to reveal
legible indelibe that which rises
to the surface from within.

father if i could spell it all out for you i would.

2 comments:

Cristina said...

i just wanted to tell you how much i appreciate this poem... i don't read poetry very often, in part because i feel as if it's almost a disgrace to it that when i do read it i cannot devote the necessary time to understand and savor it. but this i did read when it went up, and have come back to it more than once because it pulls at a certain place in my heart and gives me that kind of pain you swear you can actually feel.
anyway, this may be a poor re-introduction but i read your blog all the time and love it. we met a few times at ihsa shows... i'm a '12 at dartmouth (we're facebook friends, my name is cristina) and i caught the link to your blog on your profile page. i'm kind of a sucker for blogs and so i just kept reading it. also, i saw something about geneva and horses, and it just seemed like the right time to say hi (and stop feeling like a creeper?) because i'm actually going there for a week in february since i'm on an LSA in barcelona right now and we get a week of vacation.
summary: love this site, your tattoo, your poem, and ponies.
so, hi!
-cristina

D said...

Cristina. This is fantastic. I forgot that I ever had my blog on fb but I'm so glad that you found your way here one way or another and so, so glad that this or any other poem has kept you coming back. I have to say I was having one of the better days of my life yesterday so it would be hard to say you 'made' my day but your comment certainly was one of the reasons it was so all around great. Also great timing as I recently found out that my company may be monitoring the blog (hence the hey HR note :) so its really nice to know there are people out there who are enjoying the blog for the right reasons.feel free to share it with others you trust, I don't share it much anymore but I should I guess. Enjoy that exciting LSA- travelling can have such a strengthening effect on ones sense of self.best of luck, cristina-the-quiet-reader. :)