Title Revealed at the End

Shaianna Edwards

You made me, but you left me                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 You left a never ending trail of tears

You left a broken heart

You left unanswered questions

You gave me a life but took half of it back

You lied to me

Told me you would be there for me when there is a problem

But somehow, when you are the problem you disappear

I do not forgive you for letting a beautiful rose wilt

Wilt so much that it is like a dried daisy

I do not forgive you for allowing a mind of creativity to go to waste

Not because of laziness

But because you did not notice or acknowledge my talent

My mind was focused on recreating a pathway to your heart

No time to express my artistic ways because I had to fix things with you

You focused on personal success and ended up a personal failure

You quit a challenging job before it even became an obstacle

You let the opportunity go away

You came back ten years later

You revealed that the rose no longer had much significance to you

You longed for the rose, but the closer you got the more it moved away

You did things to portray that you wanted to be around

But you did not stick to them

Forgiveness is the key to our family relationship

I have forgiven you

But I regret the life you have forced on me

It could have been better

You were my father

I say the word “were” because my entire perspective has changed

You leave unanswered questions that I want answered by you

There is no closure

The wilting rose cannot be mended without your help

I still cry out to you

I still call your name

Hopelessly wishing that one day you would hear me

Telling my heart that you would come back to me

My heart wants to accept it

My mind only rejects it

In fear that we would create a bond that would be destroyed once again

By giving up on raising me

You left a long lasting burn

Eating away at my skin

Significant to the way dying petals fall off a rose

Sometimes I wonder how I am still here

Still waiting for you to come back

YOU WERE MY FATHER...