You Were Wrong Poem by K Marie

I no longer care.
I use too.
I used to worry over
Every feeling that brought
You low.
I used to fear the notion
Of any unpleasant emotion
That could haunt you.
I used to wish for happiness
To flood your heart.
I used to care.
…No longer.
Years of verbal lashing,
Emotional torture to make the devil proud,
You never managed to kill
My empathy for you…
Until now.
You came at the soul that
Saved me from hell's torture.
You lashed at the one
Who is center in my heart.
Did you think I would be like you?
That I would leave her
To her own defenses?
Did you truly think
I was that weak?
Or perhaps you thought
I feared you more than
I loved her.
…You were wrong!

Time after time,
Moment after moment,
You witnessed my declaration
To her protection.
You must have believed
That it applied to all
But you.
You must have been filled with
The false notion that I would
Break before you,
Or perhaps cower in the wake
Of your anger.
…You were wrong!

Demons birthed me.
Hell raised me.
Tortures taught me.
Pain sustained me.
But she…saved me.

She rescued me.
She loved the lost,
And saw past the damned.
She gave me a new name.
A name that bore love,
Not hate.
A name that evoked pride,
Not shame.
For her…I fought against
The devil and I won.

You lashed at me.
You ripped my heart and
Stomped on my bones.
You shattered my pride
And torched my soul.
You cursed my name
And filled with it with pain.
You drove fear into
My every breath.
You damned me to isolation
And death.
You thought the fear that
You branded into my skin
Would protect you.
…You were wrong!

Hear me one last time
Mommy dearest…
I will protect my daughter,
From you.