To A Daughter Leaving Home by Linda Pastan (1998)

When I taught you

at eight to ride

a bicycle, loping along

beside you

as you wobbled away

on two round wheels

my own mouth rounding

In surprise when you             pulled ahead down the curved

path of the park,

I kept waiting

for the thud

of your crash as I

sprinted to catch up,

while you grew

smaller, more breakable

with distance,

pumping, pumping

for your life, screaming

with laughter,

the hair flapping

behind you like a

handkerchief waving

goodbye.

http://pascal.eblib.com.stacks.tridenttech.edu/patron/FullRecord.aspx?p=1915405

Analysis:
I chose the poem “A Daughter Leaving Home” by Linda Patasan because it presents a view point from the parents’ thoughts on how fast their children grow up. This poem relates to my first poem “Rock Me to Sleep” by Elizabeth Allen, showing us again the special bond we have with our parents. This poem is about a parent, which I interpret it to be a father figure, who is teaching his daughter to ride a bike. I like that they use this reference to represent a childhood memory because if you ask anyone about the memory of learning how to ride a bike, most people could tell you like it happened yesterday.

Most fathers have the hardest time letting go of their “baby girl”. Fathers tend to more protective and compassionate to their daughters, they hate the idea of sending them off in the real world. I think this poem does a great job at briefly describing the fearful emotions of a father. As a child, your daddy was most likely your biggest hero. He is was the first man you ever loved and he made huge impact on your childhood. While your mother was nurturing and comforting, your father was most likely the “fun parent” who did the physical activities with you like riding a bike.

From the title of this poem, I see it being said by a proud parent. It says just enough to make you think just how much your parents taught you. You probably wouldn’t be who you are today without them. This isn’t just toward parents, it’s about anyone who played the role of a mother or father figure in a child’s life.

The story in this poem symbolizes just how fast we grow up “I kept waiting for the thud of your crash as I sprinted to catch up, while you grew smaller, more breakable with distance, pumping, pumping for your life, screaming with laughter, the hair flapping behind you like a handkerchief waving goodbye”. One day we are learning to ride a bike, the next day we are waving goodbye to our parents and entering adulthood.