I will behave,
The bitter girl said,
Put it behind me,
Forget the cruel words
Said. I am an adult now,
She said, what matter
The past, the names,
The bile of a mother
Haunted by her own
Demons. I am an adult now,
In control, walled off from
The child I was, able now
To say ‘No! hold silence
Over your sharp words’.
What matter the abuse,
The pain, the fear?
All gone now, just
The shadows, the scars
Left on my soul, she said,
These things no other
Could possibly understand.
I will forget,
The cold voice said,
Forget what she did,
Forget the child
So often left cold,
A mother’s love
Pulled away
At each turn;
Each mistake
Bringing hours
Of pain, invisible
Child, so often
Ignored, abhorred.
I will not cry,
She bitterly said,
Tears as unseen now
As they were then.
She is forever now
Closed off to you.
The rusty gate
Swings shut,
Too late, she said,
The chance is flown,
My trust has shown
Me the wrong path,
And once again
It is growing dark.
copyright@Katharine Saunders.
13 Feb 2007, 12:27 am
Like your avatar by the way, Starr.
