Ten Years in Seven Words
I don't remember the day I just remember how it felt
Like everything I'd ever known was just beginning to melt
I flash back to age 7 and I'm walking up the stairs
Mind filled with bad dreams and all my scary nightmares
I can hear them yelling, I hide behind the wall
I listen to every insult, every name call
I can't go back to bed, that's where the monsters wait
But I can't go to mom and dad, their air is teeming with hate
I cry myself to sleep, the monsters taunt me with divorce
Mom and dad tuck me back in, lying "we love each other of course"
The memories jump to fifteen, when the cracks began to form
Their wedding was arranged, because a baby would be born
My basis for love was a shotgun marriage
A quick ceremony to precede the carriage
And yet irony struck when the baby was lost
The marriage remained, but what was the cost?
My foundation was flawed, each memory misted by doubt
Our familial pink elephant had finally broken out
Two years later, back where we started
Two years worth of insight that left me broken hearted
There were screams at my sister for her hatred of our Dad
Although our DNA matches, my father wasn’t the same as she had
He wasn’t there for first days, soccer games, or scraped knees
But three years later, through it all he was there for me
I finally understand that this marriage holds no love
This wasn’t something conceived by someone up above
Days passed, the mood was cold, but the heat began to rise
I could see my world begin to melt right before my eyes
Memories of a little girl enchanted by her parents
Slowly faded with the thoughts of what was now apparent
It took time and I was scared when the words cascaded out
But by this time I knew, I didn’t have a doubt
The words shook inside my mouth and erupted oh so hoarse
“Mom?” I choked out quietly, “I think it’s time for a divorce”
The day I realized happiness was more than just a marriage
Was the day my child-like innocence was left, alone, to perish
I aged ten years with 7 words, spilled out of my heart
Growing up set in just then, I knew it was the start
Now two years passed and here I am, writing about what’s broken
Here they are, nineteen years worth of words finally spoken.