Like Father, Like Daughter

Lately I’ve been thinking

about how I never used

to be close to my father

I tended to stay out of his way

because he has a short temper

and it scared me

the way his face contorted

when he would shout.

 

When my dad found out

that I self-harmed

a couple of years ago

I braced myself

waiting for the torrent

of angry words

to shoot out of his mouth

but instead he put his arms around me

as tears burst out of his eyes

and he told me

that when he was my age

he self-harmed too.

I realized then

that the reason

why my dad used to shout

all the time

is because his way of dealing

with his feelings

were to be angry at the world

and everyone in it

rather than to be sad

and to admit

that he had any feelings

at all.

Reviews

[Buddhistboy73]

Deeply moving piece here too....and something that I too can relate to, as my father was an angry man. Maybe a common experience, as men are not always as good at expressing their feelings I guess...thanks for sharing this heartfelt piece...and the positive feeling from it....
BB