Hi,
I’m writing this poem to you
Though it’s supposed to be a letter
You’re not ever meant to see it
But I hope somehow it makes me feel better
A friend of mine promised it would.

I’m sorry
I really am, honestly
It’s not like me to do what I did
The new year cheers really got to me
People kept saying
2023, new year new me
And I let it get into my head
The risk I took today really filled you with dread
And I’m sorry I did that
I’m sorry I scared you
But I really just wanted to be heard.

If I were to say this to your face
You’d call me rude
But you can’t talk now, can you?
This letter will never reach you
So for what it’s worth
You never listen
All my cries and pleas fell on deaf ears
I tried to explain
Tried to get you to listen
Tried to get you to see my side of things
And you failed

I really just wanted you to listen to me
You were wrong when you said children were to be seen and not heard
I tried so hard to get your attention but you
Ignored me and just kept saying your own.

So I did what I did to be heard
It wasn’t nearly as bad as you made it out to be
Aunty called me aside later and whispered “Don’t mind mummy and daddy”
Because the truth of the matter is
You’re afraid
Of every single person that walks the street
From the odd old lady selling sweets
To the Yahoo boy who lives down the street
But I’m not
I’m not scared
I couldn’t even be scared if I wanted to be
Because God certainly didn’t create me
To be terrified of my fellow of men and live in fear of them.

Now come
I understand
You’re looking out for me, just trying to protect me
But I’m growing up
You won’t be able to do it for much longer
I’ll be nineteen soon and before you know it thirty
And we might only see each other on the holidays
It might hurt I know but your mind must be prepared
Can’t be your little girl forever

I hope one day you’ll understand
And if you don’t I’ve tried my very best
To explain to you how I feel
But if you don’t want to listen that’s fine
I guess it’s just a thing of the times
To have kids and not listen to them
But expect them to heed to every word you say.