"A Scared Child"
This poem is based on things I have seen in children of divorce that I know and in things I have read about the effects of divorce on chldren. I'm still working on the one line.
Picture frames were flying,
even though it was Father's Day
It made me hate you,
even as I longed for your affection

I remember the sound of your slap hitting mom's face,
like a hockey stick claking the ice
and leaving me just as cold
Like a scared child you followed her around,
and looking back I see that's just what you were

At the time I didn't understand why you two separated,
and I blamed her for it
So what if he drinks, I thought;
you always make me drink milk
So what if he hit you, I thought;
he apologized, didn't he?

I became your favorite,
and I treated mom like you wanted me to
You always said I could move in with you,
and thus I led the charge against her

I never did get to move in with you, though,
and she loved me without question
She's the one who wouldn't leave me,
but she had to lie in the bed you made

It makes me hate you,
even as I long for your affection
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