MY FATHER IS A COMPLICATED SENTENCE
Maria Isakova-Bennett
all imperatives.
Do not. Don’t. Do not let, as though
I have control over myself, over other people.
He is full of instructions, clipped:
Be early. Save your money.
Don’t speak out of turn.
He dare not use I, I want, I’d like.
Certainly not, I’d love, I love.
What’s between us?
Clumsy punctuation,
muffled pronouns.
We both drink hot black tea.
I hold his hand, he holds mine.
Our words peter away
