Voyages of My Mind

11. To the Parents of Anne, Kindergarten, Second-Honors

Think of it this way:
Whenever your
daughter cries
because she did not
please you
with her
silver medal,
a star
dies
in the sky.

It loses
its light
and magic
and snaps like
a marionette
whose strings
are cut
until it becomes
a blackhole---
a parasitic
celestial void
usurping the light
from the other
stars,
from other daughters.

So it is up to you
if you like
bright stars
shining in the sky
or a blackhole
as dark
as the night.