A Little Poetry Can't Hurt

Unsaid Words from a Daughter to her Father

Unsaid Words from a Daughter to her Father

If I could say everything to you that I've kept inside

It'd go like this

Why did you ignore me?

Why did you shush me, constantly dismissing all of my thoughts and feelings like they're as meaningless as dust?

Like I'm as worthless as a piece of dirt

Like I'm a burden that you are forced to deal with every day.

Why do you criticize everything I do, from the way I talk to the way I walk?

From the way I eat to what I eat to how much I eat

From what I wear to the style of my hair

From the friends I have to the ones I don't

From how much I'm out to how much I'm at home.

Why do you express your love through silence?

How do you not see the pain in my eyes?

When you yell at my mother and me?

Yes I know she has faults too

But no one can make someone feel worthless quite like you

Why did you do all of these things at home, but in public you pushed all of my achievements down everyone's throats

Did you know how that made me feel?

Like all I'm good for is what I can put on paper

My GPA

My ACT

My class rank

My scholarships

My athletic awards

My letters of recommendation

What about my thoughts? My spirit? My soul? My dreams? My humor? My kindness?

Why is that not enough to brag about?

There is more to me than what can be put onto paper

Do you even know me?

My fears and hopes? What keeps me up at night?

Well what keeps me up at night is you and mom

Screaming at each other.

And maybe you really were proud and didn't know how to show it

And maybe you loved me but you just weren't raised to show emotion

But I needed to hear you say it

I wanted you to be proud of me, not just my successes

Because we all know I fail a million times more than I succeed

And I needed you to tell me that was okay

And that I would still be loved.

But you didn't.

P.S. I still love you