Daughter

Father
My father
That is my father
Bless me Father, for I have
     sinned
Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Father
Your belt on my back
as I struggled
     and shrieked
Never enough of a transgression to merit
the severity

Father
Your stench in the night
Your hand on my throat

Father
Your approval
always out of reach
The goalposts constantly moving
The mirage of your
     love

Father,
am I pretty? I asked

You're pretty twice, you said
I beamed
You're pretty twice, you said
I must have smiled even bigger

Pretty ugly
And pretty apt to stay that way

You tried to break me
With words
With beatings
With cold disapproval
With
     everything you had

You failed

I lived

You died

I do not meekly accept lies
that men like you tell

I do not consent to the use, control,
objectification
     of my body

I do not live as you wish

I will not die as you wish

I see you

I am walking away