Poem: My Poor Mother's Pain

"I thought I was doing what I was supposed to do, as a woman, as a wife."
My Mother says,
as the guilt in my stomach clenches,
making me the worst person on earth.
"My Father died when I was so young," she goes on,
"I never learned how a woman was supposed to act towards a man. I was doing the best I could. I'm so sorry."
I accept her apology and feel like slime for ever blaming her,
for ever hating her.
But I was just a child,
how could I have possibly known
she was innocent?
All I knew was
I didn't want my Father to hurt me anymore
and she was supposed to have
that power.