Dear Daddy,
We talk on the phone
Semi-regularly
And occasionally you ask me
“Do you remember when...”
Do I remember
When you took me to New York?
Vaguely...
I remember a book vendor in Harlem
And the seemingly endless stairs in the Statue of Liberty
So, yeah
I guess you could say I remember.

Dear Daddy,
Another day you ask me
Do I remember
How you taught me to ride my bike?
I do
I remember you holding the handlebars
Running beside me
Then letting me go
But do you know what I remember
More vividly?
The bloody knees I got from the fall.

Dear Daddy,
Those memories you like to conjure up
All happened when I was so young
Daddy, I’m sorry
But you can’t expect me to remember
Every single Tuesday we spent together
I was so small that I barely remember them at all
But there is one memory that’s on permanent play
I’ll tell you what I remember –
The most detailed description of an event in our past
That I can recall for you
Is of the day you drove away.

Dear Daddy,
Now it’s my turn
To ask you
Do you remember
When they pried me out of your arms
And they held me back
So I couldn’t run back to you?
Do you remember
The white and orange U-Haul truck?
The tears that still stream down my face?
Do you remember my screams as you turned the key?

Dear Daddy,
Do you remember
Your last words before you left?
Under your breath
You thought I didn’t hear
“I shouldn’t be doing this.”
Daddy,
Why did you?
Daddy’s little girl had nowhere to go
When her Daddy ran away.

Dear Daddy,
You know I hate it here
And you wonder why I stay here with my mother
But Daddy, dear, dear, Daddy,
Don’t you see?
Though she’s done some irreparable shit to me
She’ll never hurt me the way you did
No matter how much I don’t want to go
I always know she’ll be there when I get home.

Dear Daddy,
Stop acting like you know me
Don’t be shocked when I surprise you
You don’t know anything about me
And it’s your own goddamn fault
Daddy,
I love you
But don’t you dare say that you love me
All you ever did was leave
Leave me here all alone
Daddy’s little girl with no Daddy to call home
Daddy,
You left.
So why won’t you just leave?