I
I look up to see my father,
towering above me.
He takes my hand, and as we go
through the turnstile, I am excited
by my first ride with him on the subway.
We go to the front car of the train,
and he lifts me. Held in his arms,
I stare out the window
into darkness punctuated by
bright lights, red, green and yellow.
Photo courtesy of backtoreality.org
II
I watch Dana and Allan, as they
walk down the street together.
Her small hand reaches up
to hold the hand of her husky daddy.
He carries her dainty pink purse for her,
and has forgotten his nails are
still covered with bright pink enamel from
the manicure she gave him.
I smile, and as I cherish the sweetness
of the love in my life, my heart brims.
Reprinted with permission from an earlier MotheringintheMiddle.com edition.
Judith Lee Herbert has returned to poetry after a successful career in another field. She graduated Cum Laude in English Literature from Columbia University. She has a daughter who is a sophomore in college, and she lives in New York City, with her husband, who writes plays. She had her daughter while in her 40s.