A Poem for Unloved Children
by Marlene Dillon
Never thought I’d write this…
Well that’s a lie.
I wrote it.
And sent it.
He intercepted it.
Said it was too harsh
Would’ve hurt you
Or destroyed you
But what did he do
As your words destroyed me?
Funny how time changes
Some things
But some people
Only seem to change
But the strange thing
On deeper inspection is
They remain the same.
I changed
Less resentful
More willing
More mindful
More accepting
More understanding
So. You. Get. More. Peace.
But if I’m the same
And unwilling
And unbending
Constantly reminding
Of how the old you
And how you were then
Is still etched in my brain
Then you’re angry
Like I hit you
I’m all bruises
You play the victim
“I did my best
You were a mess
You had it easier than me.”
I can forgive
And let go
Be the Mature One
Take the high road
Let you be a jerk
And I do the work
While all you do is live
And I’ll give grace
And I’ll be kind
Roll it off my back
One more time
Blame your childhood
Guess your reasons
And smile in your face
……….
And, yeah, they’re still wrong
And they hurt you
And they don’t claim
What you’ve been through
That’s the old them
And that’s on you
They’re taking no blame
And your healing
And your feelings
And the joys…
Hurt’s been stealing
The high love walls
And failed trust falls
Are all yours to bear
Cuz what you know now
You didn’t know then
You’re the lone one
Who’s actively healing
Can’t control them
Gotta let them
And focus on you
So bump the letter
Just forget her
Grieve the version
Who’ll never be her
Release the dream her
See the real her
That’s what helped me feel better.
09/26/26
I let it flow…. so there’s kind of a pattern but also not. I edited half to change pronouns for clarity and to make it more honest. I’m not sure which I preferred, but I liked not getting lost in who’s who once I made those adjustments. Initially “you” was used to refer to multiple people and it made it hard to follow, so I ditched the ambiguity for clarity and I’m okay with that. I’m also okay with seeing this more as journaling with style so it takes the pressure off to be perfect and releases me from the perfectionist urge to go back in and make every other stanza rhyme the same way and follow the same pattern. This way is more honest. And I like to be as authentic as possible, while honoring that I’m gonna read this later and I want it to make sense.
This section was more for me—and to satisfy my inner critic that demands perfection. This is as good as it’s getting and I’m proud of this free flow of poetry. I needed a creative release so this came right on time.
Thanks Dan Tricarico for sharing the writing prompt. This was cathartic.
