Portrait of an L.A. Daughter

      Take #1

      Her third eye is strawberry jam
      has a little iris in it
      her eyelids
        are red
      she's sleepy
        and the milk
        has gone down
        the wrong way.
      I've just had breakfast
      with the smallest person in the world.

        * * *

      Take #2

      Braided blonde hair
      white and pink barrettes
      Bette Davis gorgeous
      I hug her
      dreamy daughter with no make-up
      silver skull and crossbones
      middle ("don't mess with me")
        finger
          ring
      three or four others in each ear
      rings in her navel
      rings on her thumbs
      gentle moonchild
        "pal" she announces
      to "Porno for Pyros"
      formerly the group "Jane's Addiction"
      "Nothing's Shocking"
      with Perry Farrell
      Dave Navarro on guitar
      and Stephen Perkins
      on drums
      "Ain't No Right" they sing
      she plays it for me loud
      "Been Caught Stealing"
        they sing
      and "Ted Just Admit It"
      "Every body everybody everybody's-"

      I hug her
      Shalimar fruit smell
      Oil of Olay
      Wet 'n' Wild lip gloss
      diamond stud earrings
      and glitter on her cheeks

      Hannah Davi -a new name-
      walk-on in the movie "Day Of Atonement"
        with Christopher Watkins

      Wan, she's looking wan
      my dancing girl daughter

      And a part in a Levitz Furniture ad
        ("it's work")
      and a part in an MCI commercial
        ("Best Friends")
      breaking in
      "Brotherhood Of Justice"
      "Lost Boys"
      "Private Lessons"
      a Swiss Alps bar-maid
      ("classic blonde Gretel")
      in a Folger's Coffee commercial

      "Grunge is in" she says
      visiting Santa Cruz
      "any Goodwill's around?"

        * * *

      Flashback

      Appearing,
        "crowning" says the doctor

      "Hannah" says her mother
      "the name means 'grace'"

      Two-year-old drooling
      as lying on my back
      I toss her into space
      and back
      she falls
      and back
      into space again

      Flawless teeth and perfect smile
      one blue eye slightly larger than the other
      her three thousand miles away mother
      still present as
      two as one
      two breathing together
      we three breathe again as one
      Hannah O Hannah

          -Robert Sward


      Copyright © 1995
      All rights reserved.


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