Ashley Lippert Poet Free verse

What I Wish She Would Have Said

Oh sweetheart…
come here.
I want to tell you something.
Something important.
Because you are important.
And, you deserve a mother whose voice softens
the moment she sees your pain.

I would say, 
“I’m so sorry you went through this.”
And mean it.
With a heavy heart
as a witness to what you endured. 

Because you didn’t deserve any of it.
Not the blame.
Not the silence.
Not the way you learned to disappear
just to survive.

If I had been the mother you needed,
I would begin with your story
not my excuses,
not my fear,
not my comfort.

I’d lean in close,
no manipulation,
no accusations,
no rearranging the truth
to make myself look better.

I would say,
“I believe you.
Every word.”

You were hurting.
You needed tenderness,
someone to listen, 
someone to hold you,
a steady place to land.
That is a mother’s job.
And I see now
how I failed you.

I see how alone you felt,
how hard you tried to keep the peace,
how much you carried.
The wrongness of it all.
And how you struggled 
under all that heaviness.

If I had been healthy,
you would never have had to shrink yourself
so I could feel big.
I would have looked you in the eye
and said,
“What happened to you was real.
It mattered.
You matter.”

I would apologize
not for show,
not for control,
but because grief would rise up in me
seeing what you lived through
without the mother you needed.

I would say,
“I wish I had been better.
I wish I had noticed sooner.
I wish I had listened.”
And I wouldn’t defend myself.
I’d let the truth stand
sharp,
honest,
holy.

I would thank you
for your courage,
for your voice,
for surviving a home
that hurt you.

I’d give you space to heal
not as punishment, 
but as respect,
And I would stay.
Stay.
Not just when it’s easy
but when it’s messy,
quiet,
painful,
true.

I would make sure you knew:
I’m here.
I love you.
You deserved gentle love,
steady love,
safe love.
And I’m sorry
I’m so, so sorry
you didn’t get it from me.

That’s what a mother says,
when her love is real.

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