Dear Mom,

I know you hate that I quit basketball,

But that wasn’t the beginning of my downfall.

Tearing my ACL broke me to pieces,

Put it back together but there are still creases.

Nobody understands how I feel,

Maybe I will never heal.

My body is constantly tired and frail,

My dreams locked up in a treacherous jail.

I put my heart into work to ease the pain,

But nothing is good when done in vain.

I’m sorry I became a disappointment,

I cried after every doctors appointment.

I’ve been an athlete since four,

But my leg can handle the pain no more.

You call me a quitter but you don’t know,

How it feels to fall this low.

I am writing this to apologize, 

So that maybe you will realize,

That your kid does not need to be a star,

For you to love who they really are.

Thank you for taking the time to read this,

From the daughter you now dismiss.