If I have a daughter
on the day my daughter is born
I will give her a bag of rocks
and I will teach her to carry them everywhere
peacefully placing them in purse and pocket
like most women do with tampons
then I will teach her to throw them
at castles
glass ceilings
and oncoming tanks.
In that bag of rocks
my daughter
will find her strength.
I want a daughter
but on the day my daughter is born
I will give her a machete
with polished handle and burning steel
then I will cut a piece of her away.
I will let it dry up and calcify under kitchen cabinents
while the rest of her is left to scar
to heal
to harden
to hate
And holding that machete
my daughter
will find her heart.
I wish I had a daughter
to be born from giant clams
to be raised by wild wolves
fly across oceans skies
then burned at the stake
I need a daughter
to finish what I have started
I need a daughter
to save me.
When I am a mother
on the day she buries me
I want her to cut away my heart
and fill the open rot with rocks
she can carry my token instead
let it weigh her down
let it blister her fingers
may it rumble and rattle her empty core
still she treads on worn path
And deep within that grave
I will find
serenity.
And she will find
freedom.


