You And I

• Kareena Braunig, Grade 11
• Poetry
• 2010

I was always there for you, yet you were never there for me. You yelled at me for the smallest things, yet you always came to me. You were never there for me. You never saw things from my point of view; you never listened. After years of abuse, you made me to be afraid to open myself up to you; to crawl out from the covers and discover myself. You bore me a fundamental fear. You told me not to tell anyone else. You never gave me a reason other than someone else’s terrible experience.

You left.

That’s when I became strong. That was when I changed into the person I am today. That was when I realized my feelings. That was when I gained courage and patience. That was when I gained personal experience and crawled out of my cave.

You eventually returned.

I was then able to stand up to you. I could almost see myself on the same ground as you. Sometimes I would actually pity you; you never see outside of your own shell. You still yelled. You were still that angry person that I grew up with.

Although this is still true, now I have support. Now I have confidence. Now I have told others what you cannot. They know. They almost all know. I could tell the world.

And now I am on the borderline of telling those that bore you. Those that bore me. I will tell them.

You cannot stop me.