The Tradition

by Jericho Brown

As a Human Being There is the happiness you have And the happiness you deserve. They sit apart from each other The way you and your mother Sat on opposite ends of the sofa After an ambulance came to take Your father away. Some good Doctor will stitch him up, and Soon an aunt will arrive to drive Your mother to the hospital Where she will settle next to him Forever, as promised. She holds The arm of her seat as if she could Fall, as if it is the only sturdy thing, And it is, since you’ve done what You always wanted, you fought Your father and won, marred him. He’ll have a scar he can see all Because of you. And your mother, The only woman you ever cried for, Must tend to it as a bride tends To her vows, forsaking all others No matter how sore the injury. No matter how sore the injury Has left you, you sit understanding Yourself as a human being finally Free now that nobody’s got to love you.