It’s hard to understand what

to feel when his words say

he loves me but the tone of

his voice says the only thing

he cares about is himself.

Scars stain his back

and my wrists

but the only real scars are

the ones on our hearts.

The ones he complains

about day after day

and the ones I keep to

myself locked in a little box

in my heart because trusting

him is how I got them.

He taught me that trust is

earned no matter who you are.

The one who taught me to

shut my mouth or my heart

won’t be the only thing

Who taught me that children

like me are only loved on the

ground in shackles made of

a father’s pain.

He taught me that only

mothers are for love.

He taught me that

That Fathers are for defiance,

Are for fear

And mothers are for love

But that’s what she did

She learned to love

Learned to love another

Made him a father

And now fathers?

Fathers are for freedom

And my father showed me that.

now I understand

Because when he tells me

he loves me the tone of his voice says,

“you’ll never know how much”