In To a Daughter Leaving Home Linda Pastan creates a contrast between the title of the poem and the event she describes. From the title we expect a different kind of poem maybe one about seeing a daughter off to college. Instead the poet describes the day she taught her daughter how to ride a bicycle. Note how the line breaks create surprise. In lines 19 and 20 the child is described as screaming / with laughter. Here again the poet uses a simple storywhat happened on the day she taught her daughter how to ride a bike. As she recounts a simple story Pastan also evokes the readers feelings. Looking back to when the girl was little makes the daughters leaving even more poignant.