Song
At her Junior High School graduation,
She sings alone
In front of the lot of us
Her voice soprano, surprising,
Almost a woman’s. It is
The Our Father in French,
The new language
Making her strange, out there,
Fully fledged and
Ready for anything. Sitting
Together her separated
Mother and father we can
Hear the racket of traffic
Shaking the main streets
Of Jersey City as she sings
Deliver us from evil,
And I wonder can she see me
In the dark here, years
From belief, on the edge
Of tears. It doesn’t matter. She
Doesn’t miss a beat, keeps
In time, in tune, while into
Our common silence I whisper,
Sing, love, sing your heart out!





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