The Woman
A little girl sits in a corner
Hiding her eyes
Crying
Using her hair to hide her face
Daddy comes up
He’s angry
She did something
What?
Does it matter?
She always does something
Daddy is angry and she is hurt
As always
Just another day
Except
Except it’s not Daddy anymore
Someone new now that he died
Same control
Same hurt
New person
Why is the girl here?
Why doesn’t she leave?
This isn’t Daddy
Why deal with it when it isn’t him?
And besides, there’s a child now
Daddy was wrong and so is the new person
The child doesn’t deserve this
Neither does the girl
The woman
She’s a woman now
Not a child
She has a child
For the child she leaves
For the child she says ‘No more’
For the child she stands up
I decided to leave
I took my chances alone
I grew up, grew away, and am learning to love myself
I don’t need them anymore
I am the girl