Thank-You Notes Never Sent

Thank you to her father

for leaving immediately

thereby planting the seeds of self-doubt

and for the occasional tortured visits

that made you stay away even more

and an even bigger thank you now

for taking no responsibility

for your absence

when asked 35 years later.

Thank you to her mother

for forgetting about her while you

squandered the family purse

in search of end time prophecy

in the holy land

and for introducing her to

the man who would molest her

in the golf clubhouse

and an even bigger thank you now

for still ignoring to her

right to her face

with an empty smile at every holiday.

Thank you to her ex-husband

for being the life of the party

by making her his punchline

especially after all the time

she told you how much it hurt

and an even bigger thank you now

when you take her kids every other weekend

for their quality time of

videogames and sugary cereal

with their willfully illiterate father.

Thank you to her ex-in-laws

because she felt like she was

finally part of a family and

even though it wasn't paradise

she did feel loved

and an even bigger thank you for

completely shutting her

out of your lives when

she finally got up the courage

to leave your shitheel son

and break the cycle.

Thank you one and all

because you've made it a real challenge

for her to accept

her own lovability,

her own worth

(she's not even sure of

the love of her own children

much less her second husband),

so I say thank you

because your callous indifference,

your malignant neglect

has made me

necessary 

to her,

because I will always love her

and take care of her

and treasure her

because I know the value

of a good, decent person.

It takes one to know one.

[Posted for #OpenLinkNight at dversepoets.com - come and poem yourself into a tizzy!]