Dear Father

I am sorry I was born with you
where you wished
I never had been born
I am sorry for expecting
you to be the father that you couldn’t be
I am sorry for expecting love
that you weren’t able to give me
I let go of any expectations now

You did your best to cope in life
even when for you a way of coping
was using physical
and emotional violence
I know you were in pain yourself
when you attacked me as a child

I know you were in pain
when you attacked me
and my children last Friday
Behind your aggression
I saw the hurt in your eyes

And even after all
Even when the horror happened
and I needed to hand you over
to the police to protect us
I still loved you
I still love you

I wish you well
more than well
I hope the cord between us loosens
and we both will be free
without each other

I never have wanted this
for I ever only wanted love

©RoseGirl2020

Owning Your Space

As a little kid there was always
the threat
of the unpredictable rage of her father
He didn’t need a reason to beat her up
Nowhere she was safe
not even under the sheets
in her own bed

As she longed for a safe place
she took all the coins
from her money box
and went on her own to the store
to buy a lock for her door

But her father was like a wild monster
when violent rage came over him
that the lock on the door of her bedroom
could not protect her from
He just thundered through

So then she withdrew more and more
and made her own space very small
a small corner within herself
with walls around it
was all what was left

And also later in life
many people violently invaded her
Until she learned that
in order to keep her space safe and protected
she didn’t need to put a lock,
nor did she need to withdraw

But she needed to make her space bigger
She needed to own it
Instead of fear, she filled up
her space with true love
and let its strong and bright
burning torches protect her

©RoseGirl2019