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Please Excuse My Daughter

Poetry, Bella Majam


for her absence on the third wednesday of april. 

unfortunately she mistook the tip of a camel cigarette 


for her father’s touch. she has come down 

with something awful. her tongue 


has been bleeding blue since 

sunday. please excuse my daughter, i think she 


got it from my mother (so she must

have gotten it from me) —


as a child, i’d sit at ma’s feet as she dabbed 

foundation two shades too light 


for either of us below the crease 

of her wrinkled temples. 


must have been the wind. must 

have been the carrot soup a few degrees too cold 


when she unwrapped it from the plastic. please

excuse her, she was married 


before she even knew how to hold 

other people’s daughters. 


as for mine, she rests. i hear the rough 

drawl of a female rock star seeping


from her bedroom door, so she must be better. 

she will probably return tomorrow 


afternoon, albeit in denim 

shorts wrinkled from the day before. 


thank you for understanding.


 

Bella Majam is a writer from Manila. She was previously nominated for the Pushcart Prize. She likes long naps, loud music, and other writers' diaries. You can follow her @beelaurr on Instagram.

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