In the poem “To a Daughter Leaving Home” by Linda Pastan, the speaker tells us two stories in one. The initial story we are told is of a mother teaching her daughter how to ride a bike. The speaker tells us the wonder and awe that she had watching her daughter ride away in the lines, “as you wobbled away/ on two round wheels,/ my own mouth rounding/ in surprise when you pulled/ ahead down the curved/ path of the park” ( Pastan, 914, ll. 5-10). The next point of the story is the fear and anxiety that the speaker experiences at that same moment in the lines, “I kept waiting/ for the thud/ of your crash…” (ll. 11-13) The next few lines of the poem revolves around the feeling that she can’t keep up with her daughter and that she cannot protect her, “While you grew/ smaller, more breakable/ with distance,” (ll. 15-17). The last image that the speaker sees of her daughter and is left to contemplate is, “ with laughter,/ the hair flapping/ behind you like a/ handkerchief waving/ goodbye.” (ll. 20-24).
While you read the poem, it is obvious that all of what the speaker is trying to say is not about the first time her daughter rode a bicycle, but the reality that her daughter is growing up and can fend for herself. The entire poem could be translated using a car rather than a bicycle, making the moment not a casual ride in the park, but the daughter being married or leaving for college. It doesn’t matter the situation, this poem is a wonderful peep hole into the wonder and joy of motherhood. Also, the feelings of sadness and pride that coexist in knowing that if your child can make it on their own, you’ve done something right.
Pastan, Linda. “To a Daughter Leaving Home”. The Norton Introduction To Literature. 10th ed. Ed. Alison Booth and Kelly J. Mays. New York: Norton, 2010. 914-915. Print.
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