Orphaned Daughter

This is what every orphaned daughter should know.
You can call your mother, but she won’t answer.
And your father may be floating in the San Francisco Bay;
his ashes are fish food adrift in the belly
of the Steelhead Trout or Chinook Salmon you ate
a long time ago. Maybe his memories are your memories,
digested and expelled in the words you write.
Mom always answered before.
Sometimes you wish she hadn’t. Better to imagine
what she said than what she did say.
Maybe it’s better to be an orphan.

Daughter, you should know caring
   for yourself is a gift.
Daughter, you can own your mistakes,
   not blame them on parents who were never there.
Daughter, you can raise yourself
   without the weight of their expectations upon you.
Daughter, you can read books and discover
   a better way to raise your own children.
You can be an orphaned daughter and still
know love. 

—Gwynn Wills

Photo by Pachai-Leknettip