He was both not there
And my savior
All in one
Because when he WAS around
He protected me
I was his daddy's girl
I was the most abused
He did what he could to help
Usually by doing dishes
Mother would get pissed
How dare a parent help
Their child
Their blood
Let them flounder
Let them fail
So I can win at one more thing
And hold it over their head
He helped
But only so much so
Too timid to really fight
Too quiet to speak up
She ruled over us all
She was the queen
If she wanted something
You fetched it
And I did everything
To take care of our homes
The many apartments
We called "homes"
As soon as I was old enough
To hold a sponge
I was doing dishes
Once I was old enough to cook
I made dinner every night
If not
You faced her wrath
The anger that would spew
From her nostrils
Her eyes glowing red
And a quick flick
Of her tongue
And the beatings
She would give
Once he passed
It was free for all
Into early adulthood
The abuse continued
I was conditioned
When I left
It trickled to my brother
She continued to abuse her child,
But now it wasn't me
And my father wasn't there
To save him
A mind so innocent
Corrupted
But the feeling so magnificent
A mind so confused
Used
And flat out abused
It did not feel
What it was supposed to
It all became too unreal
Emotions shoved away
Masked with anger and hate
They always felt justified
It were the emotions that lied
Those little hands were tied
Manipulated by the obscene
A corrupted mind
Didn't exactly want them to be free
A mind, once innocent
Was lured into a darkness
It all started in that basement
Where the emotions were too much to harness