Vincent Ola-Oni Poet Free verse

Splinters

A crown that is broken cannot be fixed
It has to be replaced 
Changed 
Because a crown that is broken 
Cannot be turned into joy
So why exactly 
Do you make me sad 
You broke my heart repeatedly 
But My heart isn't yours to break 
It was supposed to be  yours to keep 
But it seems 
Even You find that hard 
And so our family 
Splintered
I could go back and forth 
On whose fault this is 
But we all know 
It's obviously your fault
MAN
How is it my fault
Everything I did I did for the family
I was only looking at the bigger picture
WOMAN 
But you abandoned us 
You acted without care 
Or better still 
you never really cared 
And if you didn't care 
Why should I 
I'm not the head of the house 
So why should I have to 
Cater for the family 
You can't blame me 
For looking out for me 
you can't really blame me
For putting myself first 
I'm a woman
I'm meant to be pampered
Not yelled at
Not cursed at
Not discarded
And certainly not beaten
Like.... like
Like your personal punching bag
You can't really blame me
For  packing my bags
And attempting to leave
Kids
Mommy has to put herself first
Your Dad is a monster
With human skin on 

MAN
How dare you say that
How dare you accuse me
Of those horrible things
All I've ever done
I've done for the good
Of the family
But I'm the head of the house
The HEAD
You're supposed to listen to my every word
Everything would have been okay
If you just listened
If you had obeyed everything I've said
I never abandoned you
I just outgrew you
You stopped being exciting
You outlived your usefulness
I need to look forward
Into the horizon
And find my next toy 
YES toy 
To me 
Women are nothing but playthings 

I can have them when I want 
And use them how I like 
And yet they still flock to me 
Leave your children with  me 
They're mine 
I'll teach them how to survive in this world 
A weak woman  like you had no business 
Raising children on your own 
You're either with me 
Or against me 
WOMAN 
You know I once believed you 
But I didn't want to believe it 
This animal you've become 
You weren't the man I knew 
You've changed 
The warmth the memories 
And the love 
Have all died 
I'm still a woman 
I still need warmth 
And since you didn't give inside 
So I found it outside 
I can't look in the face of your kids 
They remind me of you 
Anytime you hit me 
I always found excuses 
I always believed I was at fault 
And you still loved me 
If only I did things right 
Then maybe you won't hit me 
Maybe we'll live happily ever after 
But it was all a lie 
You were nothing more than an abuser 
A manipulator 
Who claimed to love me 
But your actions show otherwise 
It was never my fault
You were just 
A monster
A monster who 
Splintered our family 
THE FIRST BORN 
You know it funny 
Seeing you two 
Go back and forth 
On who's to blame 
But you forget 
I'm the one who suffered the most 
I was the one 
Who had no choice 
But to watch your arguments 
To watch my father beat my mom 
I didn't have a choice 
I had to protect my younger siblings
But there was on one to protect me 
No one to shield me 
From seeing our family 
Splinter to pieces 
You claim you put yourself first 
But all you did was run 
And look for sex somewhere else 
You claim you were the Head of the house 
Yet the only way you could enforce that 
Was through violence 
On me and my siblings 
While my mom just stood there 
Watching 
Like a corpse 
Or a zombie 
Doing whatever she was told 
I've always hated you 
Both of you. 
SECOND CHILD 
You know
As the second child 
I was always the forgotten one 
The one who was born 
After the first one 
I was neither the first 
Nor the last 
I held no position 
In your heart 
Or your mind 
When the first is angry 
I was the one who beared the brunt of it 
Did you ever care 
About me 
The things I liked 
How I'd turn out to be? 
I don't think so
When both of you 
Were busy fighting 
I was hating you 
Both of you 

LAST CHILD 
I was always the kid 
The one who know nothing 
The baby of the house 
I mean 
What did i know 
Isn't that what you always thought of me 
Isn't that what everyone thought of me 
No one takes me serious 
No one holds my words 
To the first two 
I was always the spoilt child 
The one who the parents loved the most 
And to my parents 
I was the baby 
The one they never took seriously 
The one they had no qualms 
Exchanging me with each other like a pair of socks 
Does anyone 
Even understand me 
Does anyone 
Even know how i feel 
Is it even useless 
To start explaining it
All I wanted 
Was a complete family 
One I could call my own 
One I could brag about 
One I could point to 
And say in pride 
THIS IS MY FAMILY

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