It only takes one second
For me to become attached
And it only takes one second
For us to come apart.

Ripped at the seams,
This attachment.
Something that started so small,
Ended so devastatingly.

All these lost memories
Gathering dust.
Important things.
Forgotten.

So easily thrown into piles.
What used to be you.
Is long gone.
What happened?

The memorable pictures.
The ones you just can't throw away.
Lie in the back of the drawer.
Until it is time to clean again.

Maybe it will be easier next time.
Throw away these memories.
But deep down I know.
I never will.

The surprise
As the cake comes toward me.
The amazement
As I gaze at the number.
Sixteen. Sixteen candles.

The embarrassment
As people surround me and sing.
The disappointment
When I make the very same wish
That never comes true.

The wonder
As my mother stares at me
The sadness
As I know I feel
Without my father here.

Warm and sunny am I
As I stay happy
The sky stays beautiful
As I lay down for a nap.

Quite suddenly, things change.
The happiness is gone.
The dark clouds roll in.
The storm consumes me.

Oh, how quickly times change.
Sunny and bright.
To dark and dull.
As the times change, so do I.

Why Mom?
Why do you compare me?
To the other children,
To my sibling?

Don't you understand, Mom?
I don't want to be them.
I am me.
I will always be me.

You will never understand, Mom.
You won't take the time to understand.
You won't know me.
I am who I need to be.