AFTER THIRTY-NINE YEARS, GOD RESPONDS
Dear Daughter,
There is no need to explain
your bad behavior. We were all young
once and know temptation is the key
to an unlocked door.
You have no resistance to love,
but no understanding of it either.
Your foreign language is not of guns,
but of tenderness, the control you try
to have on how you feel.
There is compassion everywhere
and hairspray a few dollars more
that will do the trick.
There is no need to sleep
anywhere except the moment.
Your checkbook is important
but no one ever found happiness
in plus signs, no one ever invited
her bank account over for tea.
