Waving Goodbye 

By Gerald Stern

I wanted to know what it was like before we 
had voices and before we had bare fingers and before we 
had minds to move us through our actions 
and tears to help us over our feelings, 
so I drove my daughter through the snow to meet her friend 
and filled her car with suitcases and hugged her 
as an animal would, pressing my forehead against her, 
walking in circles, moaning, touching her cheek, 
and turned my head after them as an animal would, 
watching helplessly as they drove over the ruts, 
her smiling face and her small hand just visible 
over the giant pillows and coat hangers 
as they made their turn into the empty highway.