The Family Secret

The Family Secret

Remember when I'd come to visit?
We cousins were the best of friends.
We'd play for hours at the kitchen table-
board games, jacks and paper dolls.

Remember when we never questioned-
obeying parents when they spoke?
Your dad sent you to clean your room
while I had to go with him.

I remember how he held my hand
as he led me down the stairs,
and for a while I returned his grip
with my naive innocence.

Remember back when I returned,
with devastated heart and red eyes?
He whipped you hard, to prove his threat,
and of those times, we never spoke.

Remember when we were just kids,
before your dad cluttered the basement
with secrets, threats and broken trust?
No..... me neither.