The Photograph

When I see you in that photograph,
I remember every time you made me cry;
there was no escape from your evil eye.
I always hoped for a happy childhood.
You stole this from me. You stole my father,
You stole my freedom.
When I see you in that wedding gown,
all happy with a smile,
a tear comes to my eye.
I struggle to find a happy memory of you.
all those times when you stopped my father
from protecting me, when you swore at my sister,
yet you envied my brother.
I was a mere child but I could still see the pain
and the anger you caused in my family.
My mother upset, my brother furious,
my sister rejected, and me innocent and weak.
Because of you I almost lost my father,
my father almost lost my sister, my brother and me.
I had had too much pain from you,
so the day my dad said he was leaving you
was truly my best memory of you.