i will name my future daughter after raspberries
her mother's skin never wrapped
tight her skull inside a warm belly
and I bring small flowers
set them on the dinner table
from my shoulders she balances
scab knees and counts tops of corn stalks
even as a baby she is gentle
scratching the ears of old dogs
I teach her how to hold a shotgun steady
we learn together the names of galaxies
words will escape her mouth breaking
my heart the way no lover could've
telling me I was too hard on her
telling me I should have let her help
birth the foals and hold more money
what will I say to her then as she takes
wedding bands and fills her own hips
that I was afraid to see her fail
my own short comings mixed
blue colored bruises in my heart hoping
she would know more than me in the end
will she look at faces in my past
and wonder if any of them could have been
her mother first, my predetermined pick
will she listen to my stories and think
less of the soul I wandered into
encourage me to apologize more often
for now she has bubbles and chalk
splattered on her handmade dress
at my feet she asks the names
of all the caterpillars navigating tall grass
and she giggles when I kiss her mother
she is curious about my anger and my dreams
did the ship builders in rome later regret
having thought the earth so flat all those years
can I compass her the same kind of safety
walk slow enough to remember what its like
tiny in the trust of big decisions
filling a memory that hasn't yet begun
