Mean
They said I was mean
But never questioned why
They said I was malicious
But never asked me what happened to make me that way
They never saw what they did to me as wrong
They never saw me
Sitting at the dinner table
Not angry
Not mad
But asked what’s wrong with your face
Nothing I say
But i still am told it needs to change
I fake a smile
I fake that it’s okay
They did this to me
She’s fiercely independent they tell them
They see it as a problem
You need to learn to work well with others I’m told
As I sit alone in a house filled with people
Afraid to ask for help with a homework question
It’s not independence.
I learned
It’s grief
It’s not a frown on my face
It’s a stoic look I’ve mastered
Because they were never there when the smile mattered
It’s not mean or malicious
It’s a cry
A cry for a single moment to feel seen
Seen for who I am not just a comparison
Nov 2, 2025
Nov 2, 2025 at 10:12 PM UTC
Mean
They said I was mean
But never questioned why
They said I was malicious
But never asked me what happened to make me that way
They never saw what they did to me as wrong
They never saw me
Sitting at the dinner table
Not angry
Not mad
But asked what’s wrong with your face
Nothing I say
But i still am told it needs to change
I fake a smile
I fake that it’s okay
They did this to me
She’s fiercely independent they tell them
They see it as a problem
You need to learn to work well with others I’m told
As I sit alone in a house filled with people
Afraid to ask for help with a homework question
It’s not independence.
I learned
It’s grief
It’s not a frown on my face
It’s a stoic look I’ve mastered
Because they were never there when the smile mattered
It’s not mean or malicious
It’s a cry
A cry for a single moment to feel seen
Seen for who I am not just a comparison
