So, am I supposed to forgive you
for all the times you forgot me
in the barren supermarket parking lot?
Or, am I to misremember how many years
you threatened nobody would like me
for refusing to fix my unruly curls,
or cross my legs like a good girl should?
Because I don’t.
Did you hope I’d forget
what a nuisance it was for you
to “babysit” your own child
when the woman you married
only asked for an evening out once?
Or, do you expect me to not notice
how many treaties you made
and you broke?
Because I won’t.
Do you want me to play your mind games
without a struggle?
A child shouldn’t make a Martini this well
Or, should I confess it’s all my fault?
After all, you didn’t invite me to live in your house
but here I am nonetheless.
Because there’s no way.
Are you going to jab
your tobacco reeking finger
at her your entire life?
Or, did you think I’d laugh with you
tormenting her
pencil point held too close to her eye?
Because now I know you’re nothing
but a chicken in a man-suit.
Am I supposed to grow up wondering
is this love?
Or, will you tattoo me a list
of why I’m not permitted to smile?
Because, no.
So, I witnessed the fog dissolve
how insidious it has all been.
On the starting line of my adulthood
you’re still clawing my forearm
with that truculent grin.
I don’t know how to tell you
it’s my turn to swipe away the muck
you heaved at us.
Because now I know better.
