ANALESE
Cheryl Townsend
The tarot reader told me
that I would have a daughter
and that I should name her
Analese
This she promised
would ensure her health
and happiness
Analese came to me in the fall
drunk on lust and Absolut
Her presence was immediate
pelvic insomnia and tears
It was the wrong man after all
and no explaining
could make him right
Analese could have been
my mirror
an inheritance
of who I am
A woman today
my daughter
Analese
in some other hands
I drove so many hours
in the secret of the night
and changed a promise
to just another day
Analese is just a memory
of a fantasy of my youth
and every fall the leaves
mimic her hair and dance
in the wind of her laughter
Analese
you were meant to be
but time was not mine
to give you
Analese
virgin prayer
amen
