I am that little boy
hiding behind the woodpile
with his dog, crying.
I am that little girl
in front of the mirror
with her doll, broken.
We are the children
who only wanted
to be loved, but weren’t.
We played superheroes
so no one would harm us
except you, and you did.
We wanted to be cared for
maybe loved
but never ignored, which you did.
We learned to “be seen and not heard”
and are that still
because we don’t know how to love.
A smile, a hug
maybe “I love you”
would have helped the child
you didn’t see.