Echoes Of Hurt

I ate what was given, yet still, I grew too much, my body betrayed me, while your words cut like a blade. “You’re so fat,” you'd say, as if it was my fault to bear, a child branded for something I couldn’t fix or repair. Still, you'd say, "Eat all your dinner," like that would make me right, feeding the guilt with every bite, in the silence of the night. You blamed me for what I couldn’t change, for the flesh I never chose, as if I was a broken thing, something you could dispose. Each word you threw, like daggers sharp, pierced deeper every day, but now I see it wasn’t me— it was your hate, your dismay. You saw me as something less, something unworthy of love, but I’m more than your cruel words, more than your push and shove. You wanted me to call you dad, you were meant to be a stepdad, but you didn’t even step up— never once did you try to stand by. Not once did you show me you cared, not once did you try to see, a father’s love should lift, not break, but you couldn't even notice me. The black sheep of the family, unseen, unloved, alone, you wouldn’t have noticed if I disappeared— I was just a name you’d disown. And my mum, she wasn’t better, her love as cold as stone, standing silent, watching me fall, never lifting me alone. You both tried to pass on your pain, to make yourselves feel whole, but I won’t carry what you gave me— my heart is not your toll. I already have enough to hold, too much to carry from the past, I won't let your brokenness define me, I’ll rise, I’ll make it last. My bedroom, my safe place, so quiet, so alone, just what I need to heal, to find the peace I’ve never known. But I am stronger now. I’ve risen from the wreckage you left behind— slimmer, happier, healthier, a soul refined. You never gave me the tools to live, so I learned them on my own, built myself up from the ruins, and now I stand, fully grown. I’ve gained wisdom, strength, and grace, things you could never steal. I nourish my body with care, and honor what is real. I am whole, I am free, unshackled from your past— I’ve found the light within me, and nothing can outlast.