ON HAVING A DAUGHTER
by JACOB RIYEFF
Beneath an afternoon sun
I paddle my daughter out,
out past the breakers.
She smiles, her hair falling
across her cheek askance,
the jeweled waves glinting
in her eyes. And this is where
I would keep her—out
beyond the turmoil near shore.
But, bobbing with her in the sea-surge,
I know she won’t stay here.
She will stumble in the backwash,
circled by flotsam, mangled
fish carcasses, driftwood
stumps too large for play.
Beneath an afternoon sun
I paddle my daughter out,
out past the breakers,
and we find a moment’s liquid
pleasure, cheating time
for her smile. And I would have her
stay here, out past the breakers.
But we have to be getting ashore.
AUTHOR BIO:
Jacob Riyeff is a translator, teacher, and poet. His work focuses on the western contemplative tradition and the natural world. Jacob lives in Milwaukee's East Village.