A Child's Call Poem by Arielle D'amore

You gave me life
You taught me to walk
To read, to write, to love
But what is love?
Something I read in fairy tales and always longed to know
Did you tell me you loved me when I was little?
Surely I cannot remember
But I do know those words haven't fallen from your lips in many months
Maybe you haven't meant it for years
Maybe you never meant it
Perhaps you tried but never found a place for me in your heart
But is that possible?
When you gave her life you loved her more than anything
She is precious to you yet I am nothing
But why?
Why must I be the one to learn indifference and neglect?
Being very young, I accused you even then
But how could such a young child know anything but love?
Anything but a mother's warm smile
Anything but the safety only a father could provide
How could you be so cold to me
How could you just shut me away
When since as long as I could remember I've done nothing but cry out to you while you just watched
You who watched my heart break
You who saw me scared
You who saw me hurting
You who saw me losing myself
Almost ending the pain myself, once and for all
And YOU who could not even say a word?
The strength I've not been given but earned for myself is evident to all but YOU
The only two that even matter
The two who shaped me by my need for your approval
I write because she wanted me to write and yet you've never read a word
I work hard to be independent so he won't have to worry about me and yet he doesn't know a single struggle I've overcome
All of your indifference has swallowed me day after day
Yet I will still be your little girl crying out in the night for you to hold me
Just to tell me I will be alright
But I will just have to find another way
Because my darkest secret is my deepest longing
For you
My mother and father