You gave me anger
Inherited rage
You crack the whip
I feel the pain
I wanted love
But when I was young
You cracked the whip
When I misbehaved
I hear the shouting
I remember the screams
The taste of my tears
The death of my dreams
What did I do
To deserve all of this
The screams in my ear
The lash of the whip
A child raised up
With fear in his heart
Grown into a man
Standing apart
All love he has known
Has turned into pain
And friendship to him
Seems very strange
You gave me solitude
And inherited rage
A crack of a whip
An emotional cage.

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all text Copyright Cary Preston Richards, 1999