Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Skating Day

Author's note: My purpose in this poem is twofold: first I'd like to describe a particular moment with my daughter. Second, I want to create a symbolic meaning; I'd like feedback on whether or not the symbolism of this particular moment comes through in my poem.


My daughter
     stomps her skate-clad feet over to the rink and barrels through the rink-side crowd,
     making her way onto the ice, one hand barely touching the wall.

With trepidation, I step onto the ice, letting the blades of my skates remember
       the feel of the world sliding away, out of control.
       Cautiously, carefully, I release the wall.

My daughter
       grabs for my hand with her mittened one
       run-skates her way around the rink, dragging me behind,
      
       my feet keeping contact with the ice at almost every moment,
       leaving only for the instant it takes to get momentum
       and returning to earth.

My daughter,
       laughing in frustration at my slowness,
       slides away, her mittened hand gliding across my palm,
       letting go.

She will fall on the ice,
       and she already knows how to pick herself back up.

3 comments:

  1. Is this poem maybe about letting your daughter go and realizing that she is growing up and she can do things on her own?

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  2. I think this poem is about letting your daughter grow up. Maybe you don't want her to, but you can't change the inevitable.

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  3. I really truly enjoyed the last line of this piece. I personally believe it to be symbolizing the fact that your daughter can do more than you think she can.
    I also think that, out of context, this line could show the fact that people are consistently being pushed down, and falling, and yet, somehow, we learn to pick ourselves back up and try again.

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