to my father


it was there
by the hedge of torch lilies
where I pushed a lit candle into the sand
as deep as the stars in a well
hoping to reach my father’s heart for once
call off discord and lessen absence

it was then
when I commanded him
to stop the hiding inside crisp bones
and I stood by his grave with fists clenched
tense and still like a hummingbird
before backing off from an emptied flower



Published by Ascent Aspirations Magazine, Anthology Eight, 2010