(I Am) My Father’s Son

                              you grew into           a name i’d never heard.                                          a void.            i tiptoed around its edges.                              unbelievable,            blank, unable to                                    articulate.            remember this face.      i knew you’d never hold me         and i want to hold you                             responsible—                                                                  but you’re a ghost before me—       i learned well, how to leave          an outlinetrace the contours of my face—          in the mirror. i waited.  pay attention: a solitary heart is      retrievable. still, you had                                 no heart at all        to turn around.