i’m one week away

from the day that

my gift to madeline

becomes something that

people will publicly 

judge, both

positively and negatively. 

some will praise 

the “story,” some will

criticize the writing. 

some will find

something to 

relate to and 

others will wonder

how the hell 

i “did it.”

i’m ready for all

of that, 

but more than 

anything, i hope that

someday my daughter

reads it and

realizes just how

much i love her.