Communion

She sat, as I recall
Small, a doll, eyes daring
Beyond caring of the future

And?

She wore trainers, to run
Said she’d always been running
From men like me

Men like you?

Men like her father
Forever after possession
Paternal monsters, always hunting

And did you hunt her?

No, no need. She knew I would wait
I’d baited her, held the line,
Sedated her, reeled her in

And then?

I measured the length of her, the stretch of her
As we communed without communion
Shrouded in scarlet

But you see her still?

Yes, she sits at my shoulder
My angel, my perfect angel
And she whispers, Daddy …