Moving Ahead

The gazelle flees;

the lion's predatory nature

is beyond reproach.

The little girl dissolves-

her father's misogyny

becomes bilious.

Now a woman,

fear has become her purpose.

Yet what if she discovered

the lion and her father were gone-

that death could no longer molest her.

And what if now the only discrepancy between

having treachery or freedom

is her inability to look back,

let go,

and move ahead.

By Catherine Valleroy