"To a Daughter Leaving Home" by Linda Pastan

Author Bio:

After graduating from Radcliffe College, Linda Pastan gave up her writing so that she could focus on raising her family. Thanks to her husband's persistence ten years later, Pastan returned to writing poetry and gave us poems that discuss every day life; specifically grief, anxiety, marriage, and parenting.

To a Daughter Leaving Home

Linda Pastan

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.


Reflection:

From the title of this poem, “To a Daughter Leaving Home,” we see that it appears as a letter. Because it is addressed to a daughter, we view the speaker as a parent who writes in first person narrative. In this farewell letter, the parent reveals a flashback of the first time their eight year old daughter was able to ride her bicycle by herself for the very first time; a very big step in a young child’s life. Throughout this letter, the speaker compares many different aspects of the bike ride with what is presently going on as their child prepares to leave home. For example, it surprised the parent when the little girl “pulled ahead down the curved path of the park.” Even though they knew their daughter would soon be able to ride her bike independently, the parent is still shocked. The same surprise that presents itself today as the daughter is preparing to move out of the house. A simile that the parent uses is their view of the daughter’s hair “like a handkerchief waving goodbye.” Even though the child is heading away from her parent, they still search for a symbol that will provide closure and prove that their daughter is somewhat regretful in leaving them. However, from the flashback, we know this girl to be very independent. When the parent writes “I kept waiting for the thud of your crash as I sprinted to catch up,” we know that this parent has not fully let go of their child and wants them to stay in the comfort and protection of the home. Unfortunately for them, she will continue to “grow smaller in the distance” and not look back for quite some time because she will be too busy “screaming with laughter.”

On another note, all young children who ride bicycles are at some point, destined to fall, skin their knee, and cry out for their parents. The parent of this letter may rest at ease knowing that some day, however long it may take, they will once again hear the desperate cry of their child and will be able to come to their aid.