Father's Daughter Poem by Phoenix Feniks

There is a lump in my throat
about the size of a cherry pit
and I haven't been able to swallow it since I was 7.
My childhood was broken,
I was always aware.
But the main reason
has only hit me now-
my father.

I remember childhood like a thin slab of ice,
if I stepped too hard
or stomped my foot in anger,
it would shatter.
The harsh reality would be dropped on me by my family
quicker than they could take it back.
I was terrified of breaking the ice,
until I did.

I was always asked why I was so mean,
so rude and violent.
I never had a reply,
but deep
deep down,
I knew.
I knew I was my father's daughter,
I carried the same violence and anger
that flowed through the blood passed down to me.
My palms harboured the same fury
as my father's fists,
the mouth that I spoke with
spat the same venom as my father's.
Even my ears
savoured the same music as him.

In the end,
I knew everything
even though I never dared to break the ice.
Instead,
my warm tears melted through it
as I realised...

I am my father's daughter.