Dysfunctional Family Day – Poem № 11
A Therapeutic Poetry Series
Born misunderstood
Never described as “good”
From a family convinced I was wrong
Always felt like I didn’t belong
Couldn’t do anything right
Every time I expressed myself
It was a fight
Now, It’s family day here where I live
And My family’s so hard to forgive
They hurt with no remorse
The trauma, takes its course
Through bloodlines it consumes us
No love, affection or trust
Just insults, hate and shaming
I’ve just spent my life blaming
Myself, must be my fault
This loveless life result
The adults in my life
Continue with the strife
I fought myself for ages
Wrote endlessly on pages
My journal saw it all
No moment was too small
Finally I realized
Pain where remarks were snide
There was unresolved trauma
Well-hidden, cloaked in drama
And their yelling
Was telling
of a whole lot more
They were mad because we grew up poor
Generations of forgotten souls
It didn’t matter if they had dreams or goals
They were squashed by reality
Hope erased in totality
When they saw my vitality they mocked
And they hated the way that I talked
I had far too much hope
They’ve been reduced to tropes
The only way to cope
Was through hurt
Temporary relief, felt like dirt
Finding new ways of making me drown
Inevitably this world would bring me down
Perhaps it was just love all along
And this whole time my heart had it wrong
They did the best they could
Change it? Not sure I would
Heart feels drained
From this pain
Things I’ve gained
Are insane
Grateful for this deep perspective shift
It serves me well, family, a precious gift
Reminder that your family wounds aren’t yours to hold
Surrender
Put them down
Set boundaries
They’ve been told
