why is it?

Photo by Jonathan Marchal on Unsplash

why is it?

many parents want
their children
to be carbon copies
of them?    shoved down
a narrow, prosaic lane
logical, cautious—  
in 1960s lingo,
straight-arrow, but
this child wasn’t 

I hungered
for the unknown, 
the inner enigma
what are we? why?
is there a purpose?
mom went cold, dad
frowned, turned away
the message—college,
find a husband
I did—not in
the right order
didn’t bring me joy

found that in singing
sacred names,
group meditation,
discovering my tribe