You did not beat me
you did not abuse me
you did not ****** me
you did not see me
you did not talk to me
you did not need me
you did not love me
until you needed me to change
your **** bag,
until you needed me to
feed you naso-gastrically
until you needed me
to push the morphine
until you needed me a kid
at 13, to minister to you
tell you not to be afraid to die
that it was going to be alright.
until you needed to confess
to me, the sins of the father
until it was just me and you
mother brother spinning off
to the edge of the world
not coping not dealing
like I could do.
until you needed me to soothe
you like you never soothed me
offer you comfort like you
never did comfort me
until you needed me to see you
like you were blind to me
even tho I was right in front of you
all my life in your life
until you needed to tell me,
"I love you daughter", not for me
but for you.
until you needed me to tell you,
"I forgive you dad " and I do.
until you needed me to see you die
then you were gone, and for me
nothing new, situation remains
the same
unchanged.

J.C. mid 1987... Written at age 15.