You would touch me in anger so
that I would cringe in fear.
That was so long ago; so
why do I sometimes still react
in that way?
Out of cruelty, you seemed to delight
in making me cry.
Now, these years later
sometimes a word or a thought
can bring the tears.
Such a short time, but so much damage done!
You took away my happy innocence
and turned me into an unhappy, angry person.
Acting out in unhealthy, unsafe ways;
trying to ease the pain you inflicted.
A ghost from the past still affecting my future.