My Father's Prettiest Son
“Be a good example for your brothers." He says it like instruction, like inheritance "They are younger than you they will emulate you do better.” And I learn quickly. How to step forward How to stand in place That was never called mine. First daughter But raised in the echo of a son Not in name, But in weight. To be careful with his silences To anticipate the weight of his days To become somewhere he can rest To hold the house steady When it leans too far To soften what lands hard To be watched Not as a child But as a measure Of what is working And what is not And I carry it well, Too well. Like something tailored But never asked for He does not see the shift, only the shape. How I arrive early How I stay longer How do I not break? Where I should And maybe this is what he means. When he looks at me With something like pride Not daughter Not quite. But something that holds Something that endures Something he can point to And say, This one This one is mine. And I, I have lear...