Seed

seed

written by: Eric Danhoff

@troubled_sleep

 

daughter practices dirty looks
in mirrors and on strangers
teeth chipped
from tasting everything in reach
she is ready for the world outside
and growing without you
pain is the receipt of desire
you pay those bills daily
no cash
in the relentless series
of digital handshakes
a slip of white paper
reminds them your worth
but the rooms are warm
when they need to be
your fingers skim past copied poison
and videos of our waning mirage
in the corners of loud houses
you prepare for war
and drown the child
in music and stories
seed will bloom
trust the words you spit
to the windshield, the bathroom walls
in constant worry
daughter knows you are an echo chamber
all silence or screams
and nothing but
she sees your words hit the walls
bounce back
fade completely
through you
she knows she will not succeed every day
and yet she continues to grow
seed will bloom
with or without you
observe
nurture
by your presence
persistence
pain