moonwalking backwards

I missed watching the moonwalk
with my dad I watched it instead
with a family down the street
I babysat for with a mother who
made me feel more comfortable
than mine did but there was no
one who I would have enjoyed
the experience with more than
my father but I missed that
opportunity

today I held a small belated
memorial for what could have
been had I not let my discomfort
around my mother encourage me
to seek less of the comfort I felt
around my dad and yet my sister
used to blurt complaints to me
about how my father kept her from
having a good relationship with our
mother maybe we truly get what we
see

Cinse Bonino
2024