Collateral Damage Poem by Cassiel Smith

In the shadows of a broken home,
Where grief and suffering roam free.
A daughter's heart, a beautiful dove,
Beaten and bruised by the love of a father.

Collateral damage in his raging storm
Her innocence, a lost, abandoned cause.
His words stabbed deeply, like daggers.
Leaving scars that awaken her nightmares.

She is cautious and reserved when it comes to speaking.
She was weak, gentle, and with a broken spirit.
In the silence of her tear-stained room,
She covers up the bruises and the gloom.

Her father's hands, which were meant to protect
Now used as weapons of neglect.
Her cries for forgiveness got lost in the commotion.
A battle she would never muster the bravery to win.

Collateral damage in his malicious scheme,
Her youthful innocence was destroyed.
She longs for comfort, for a kind touch,
But all she discovers is pain, at most.


In the aftermath of her father's fury,
She finds herself imprisoned within a cage.
A captive of dread and hopelessness,
Collateral damage that cannot be repaired.


But there was a glimmer of light in the shadows.
A beacon of hope full of light.
For she finds the courage to break free.
To find herself again, the person she was supposed to be.


Collateral damage, but not defeated
Her tale is told in her scars.
She rises, brave and strong, from the ashes.
A survivor with an untold spirit.