'For My Daughter,'
A Poem by Mark Yakich

I should have taught you that it’s easier
To forgive a malignant person than a malignant tumor.

I should have taught you to undo hate
By the minutes spent with relatives in peace and quiet,

By the blanks nobody knew were empty.
Sometimes the obvious stated with clarity

Has consequences. Speak when broken.
Ache when opened. The best one can

Say about the world is: Author Unknown.
Still, I try following the path of Sister Gertrude Morgan,

Picturing God nearby in order to keep me
Far away from you. If you ever feel

The need to talk to me again, I grant
You permission to write any sentence you want.

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From Spiritual Exercises by Mark Yakich, published by Penguin Books, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. Copyright © 2019 by Mark Yakich.