archetypes
joanne seltzer
my Daddy posed like Apollo in the wind
my Daddy borrowed a moustache from Clark Gable
& also pop-out ears
my Daddy was an adventurer 15 years old
he ran away to Windsor Canada
lied about his age
enlisted in the Jewish Legion
served as a soldier in Palestine
my Daddy conquered the rocks of pharoahs
under the hot Saharan sun
a bareheaded boy in British uniform
stood at the face of the Sphinx
of course my Daddy came home to marry Detroit
& lost his job in the Great Depression
my Daddy loved to bounce&kiss&cuddle me
even though he was scolded
put her down Sam don’t spoil the baby
& I was in the automobile spinning&turning
upside down&a broken steering wheel
& my Daddy’s head broken&spinning
my Daddy died before my 10th month birthday
the head of a human was carved in stone
but the lion’s body sprouted flowers
no one knows the answer to Daddy’s sad riddle
about the ages of man
