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2022-04-27T15:12:17-07:00February 21st, 2011|Parenthood|

He wasn’t ready

He wasn’t ready to be a father.

That’s how my mother put it.

You cannot blame a plum
that hasn’t yet ripened
into a prune.

It was simply one fact among the few:
lawyer
funny
Jewish
not ready.

He never called or returned my letters
but he did send a gold necklace
when I was four,
a heart pendant that I never took off
until it was so dented
by me pretending it was a retainer.

Now that I have a child of my own
I expected I would finally feel fury
but it just won’t grow.

My mother planted get-on-with-it seeds
in my brand new heart
and like any wartime garden,
there is nothing dramatic
to dwell on.

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