There are many lines in this poem that I feel reverberate--the poem is such a strong collection of images.

"somewhere between Angel Island and the sea" strikes me because when you walk along the edge of an island, on the beach where the water reaches up, there is always the question of where one ends and the other begins. To me, there is no space between an island and the sea, and so to me, this is saying that the father made this decision suddenly, not that it appeared over time but that in an instant, she IS Marilyn.

And for some reason, this is a reminder to me of how quickly Norma Jean became Marilyn, the leaving of a past and an identity crafted by someone else, based on what someone else envisions for you, whether it is a parent or a movie studio.