Infinite emptiness. Two video camera lenses pointing towards each other.
That is all there is when my father and I look each other in the eye.
I didn't even cry when he asked me to live somewhere else.
I thought that meant I won, since he started to tear up just the slightest bit.
The only time I've ever seen that happen.
But I didn't cry.
Not in front of him.
Not in front of anyone.
There was snow on the ground that day.
We wore our coats bundled tight against the cold as She helped me pack my things.
She hugged me when necessary. A former lover.

The Tree goes through it's cycles every year
Switching between mediation and activity
Dropping it's seeds on the shaded ground below
So that it's offspring may go through the same cycles

I weeped the day I willingly left my Mother's house.
I tried not too. I wasn't trying to win though.
It was warm that day and I wore no shoes.
I dug my toes into the grass as I smoked a cigarette, trying to gain my composure.
She hugged me when necessary. My Mother.