'My Father Is Dying. Do I Have To Be There?'

This moment doesn't have a moral. Instead of making sweeping, rigid decisions about what to do next, let yourself be surprised by what's here.

Zephirium apochripholiae (Windwort) (1997), Dorothea Tanning

Dear Polly,

My father is sick. Really, my father is dying. Which is sad. Maybe? Because my father isn't, has never been, my dad.

He left my life before I was two. I didn't meet him again until I was in my late 20s. I feel pretty lucky with my childhood. My grandparents who raised me were the best…