Father,
I must remind you that I am your daughter.

I have been hewn from
your own flesh and bone,
and though you may forget,
I am you.

Father,
I must remind you that I am not my mother

When you look at me,you see my other half;
I walk and talk and laugh like her.
You see my mother,
in my gender and my face.

I am more her than you.
We both have the darkness
that can summon thunders
and grant us empathy, unbounded.

Father,**
I must remind you that I am not your son.

When you look at me, you do not see
the same keenness of mind and
quiet grit both you men possess.
I am sorry I am not better.

I speak to him, instead of you
in times I need a masculine support,
and when I face moral quandries.
I learned not to ask you.