"Why Mother"

I wrote this poem based on A Child Called It by Dave Pelzer.

Why Mother, I feel so alone

We may live in this house together

But this is not my home

You stab me, beat me, and tear me down

I am your slave all around

I am not loved, only used

You and my brothers enjoy the abuse

Why Mother, why do you not care

I am your son, why are you not fair

Remember the time you held me over

A burning stove, and to the ground I dove

I fought and I fought until my brothers came home

That is when you stopped, and showed them love

Then you came back and gave me a shove

Dad showed me love, then you tore him down too

He would keep away just to stay away from you

Why Mother, why will you not feed me

You give me scraps if I am a “Good Boy”

This is when I got down on my knees and I had to plea

Even though it would make you more upset, Father would feed me

Why Mother, why do I live in the basement

Why can I not live upstairs with you

Are you trying to make a statement

About how I am not like the rest of you?

Why Mother, why do you make me play these “games”

You would make me stay in a bathtub full of cold water for a whole day

You would create a “gas chamber” in your bathroom and force me in

I could not breath, see, or hear

I was so scared, so what was the aim?

It upsets me that for most of my life, I thought this was “normal”

Until my teachers at school saw the bruises from you

They called you and you beat me more

I was a “Bad Boy” and did not know what to do

Later on, I knew what had to be done

I would just fight and fight until my brothers came home

I realized I only had to cope with you, and that is how I won

Also Mother, I remember how loving you were in the early years

But you stopped being that person a long time ago

The only thing you did was cause me pain and woe

And why Mother, why did you not see that I am strong

How I can defeat you all day long

Even though it was your goal, you never broke me

Now I am an adult and look at my success

I was in the Air Force and help other children like me flea

From their abusive household and find a loving family

Why Mother, you only made me stronger

And now, you can hurt me no longer

Author's Note

I would love to have people give me tips on my writing, what you think I could have improved, etc. This is my very first poem and I wrote it when I was 14.

Reviews

[Harley Quinn]

This broke my heart. I'm so sorry you were treated like that. I'm sure people can relate. Thanks for sharing.