Daddy's Little Girl (Danielle Fugate, Ashley Reid, Stacey Pusey) (Group Project)

These three writers developed this poem based on the following prompt: In a similar style to Sylvia Plath's "Daddy," write a poem called "Daddy's Little Girl"; thus, the speaker of your poem is the father or estranged husband of Plath's speaker. The writers had about 25 minutes to write the poem. After working on various exercises, the entire class listened to Sylvia Plath reading her poem "Daddy."

You do not do, you do not do
You never did, you always knew
What I was, a man of
passion when love was new.

I didn't have to kill you,
you did for yourself.
Cold to the core, burdened by two,
Not strong enough. It all fell
through.

If I am a vampire, you are
my cross. The very image of
you burns and sears.

A broken soul before me,
but I gave you my sanity.
You only borrowed; didn't
you know I'd need it
back?

My darling wife, you
hollow being, I'm through.
___________________

LIT160 Introduction to Literature, Spring 2006
Published with writers' permission

Beautiful Martyr Mother (Danielle Fugate)

(Note: the author wrote this poem as a response to Amiri Baraka’s “Beautiful Black Women.” Baraka’s poem brings to mind her personal remembrances.)

Beautiful martyr mother, fight, never break. Love them, win.

They’re of your blood, bring them back. Love them, win.

Innocence, dry tears, fight back. Fight for them for family is

the basis of love, basic need. Win. Love them. Unfair

prosecution. Find the meaning of family values, win, don’t lose sight of

love, family is the bonding of blood, bring them back

to their rightfully deserved home. Beautiful martyr mother, roll with

the punches and keep on movin’. They need you. They cry for

family, they cry for their true home, they need you. Win.

They need you, fighting, unfair prosecution. These horrible judgments of

innocent, family values reign, the jury, win, they cry, and their tears

soon shall dry in justified justice. The tensions are high hanging in limbo, their

innocence and purity, the unfair prosecution, the fight for values, the loss of meaning

and absence of family. Family. Mothers. They need you. Closer to values

closer to justice, never give up fighting for your constitutionally justified values.

Mothers.

Keep on fighting. Bring them back to where they should belong. Win them. Mothers.

Never

stop fighting, never, win them, dry tears, build values, keep fighting and

win

them, keep pressing for family values, their tears will be gone soon, justification is

nearly worth the wait, siblings, family values, never break

__________________

LIT160 Introduction to Literature, Spring 2006
Printed with permission of author