Expectation

Expectation is a prison.

Let go and you will be free.

Abba

My father is a strange man
Who at times was a stranger
A boisterous Dominican
But strangely enough
Shrouded his son in silence

My father is a simple man
Que come su arroz y carne sin sazon
Sesenta anos sufriendo en el silencio

I have nightmares
Because I never knew my father’s dreams

I was smitten with resentment
I embraced her jagged figure
18 years, 5 sports and never once
Counted his countenance at a court
I don’t know what my father’s applause sounds like

My quandary:
Knowing where my father is
And still feeling fatherless

He called me yesterday
And in between flat niceties
He said “te quiero”
So I forgave him
Because even when we fall far from the tree
We yearn for our roots