I offer Rage a chair
invite a conversation
She rants about childhood
and neglect, powerlessness
in the face of abuse
And I nod and remember,
suggest she’s also feeling grief
And she talks about crying
alone, no one caring, and how
I don’t let her cry anymore
I put up walls, I agree,
and ask how I can help
Stop leaving me out, she says
touting her values, and learn
to be more assertive
She says she feels abandoned
to which I reply that feelings
and reality are not the same
The conversation tires me
we’ve been around and around
the subject before…
And then I realize, I do need her
and venture to ask for forgiveness
I’ve screwed so many things up
Admitting you’re not perfect,
she smiles, definitely helps
besides…together we make ‘me’.
(Written for VJ’s Weekly Challenge: the other side. Image my own.)
