Mum and Dad

Meeting you while a grown man,
Is a trauma I cannot bear,
I recoil stammer and look sideways,
Turn into a nervous little boy,

 

I cannot go back to that house,
To distant memories and confusion,
Where education came first and love did second,
To be loved 'unconditionally',

 

To break another crowbar,
Or to be a waste of space,
Children should be seen and not heard,
Unless they entertain the guests, 

 

And coming home from school,
To be berated at the dinner stool,
Knuckles rapped with knife and fork, 
Up the stairs for bed for chair, 

 

So now rising from dinner table,
I am glad of my escape,
To be overcome with guilt at the wheel,
Dreaming things were different,

 

Pushing hard on the accelerator,
Rolling down electric windows,
Feeling wind through my hair,
Repeating forcefully:

 

It will be alright kid,
I will love you,

It will be alright kid,
I will love you,

Unconditionally.

 

~ Gamhain MacCionaoith