Joyce tells us about a father-daughter relationship in this poem. An exclusive for Different Truths.

impossible to solve
the riddle of why his mother
gave him to the nuns
their faded eyebrows
pinched like clothes pins
around each forbidden thought
his old life lost

impossible to fix
the broken light switch
the leaky sink
impossible to hear Beethoven’s 9th
above the noise of neighbors bellowing up the airshaft
and junkies falling down the stairs

impossible to swallow
any more pride
when you’re crippled inside
unable to provide

he took his wife to the beach
out there stroking
through the green salty waves
the rip tide was nothing
compared to the pity in her smile

twelve years later
he waited by the lake in Central Park
his daughter’s stride now as long as his own
among the broken boats

yes, I have girl friends
he answered
but they don’t understand why I swim

Image designed by Anumita Roy and Different Truths

Joyce Yarrow

Joyce Yarrow is a Pushcart Prize nominee and her poetry, short stories, and music have been widely published. Her acclaimed Jo Epstein mystery series includes ‘Ask the Dead’ and ‘Russian reckoning’ and she recently co-authored a family saga/thriller, ‘Rivers run back,’ with Arindam Roy. Joyce is an activist, lobbying strongly for the anti-gun laws. When she is not writing, she sings for Abrace, aspiring for global peace.