The other night he used words he should have never used in a tone that was unacceptable. He said things that shook my soul but made you cry, and this is where I draw the line, and yet I used to ask myself all the time. How could someone like you find your mind in shambles and your heart in a pit and now I know that he was part of the reason for most of that shit. He didn’t leave completely but he was there enough. I know this because instead of depending on him, you ventured out into chaos in search of love. A love that you knew nothing about because the people who should have loved you enough to keep you safe chose to leave you out . in the wilderness where wolves pace back and forth in search of prey. A child with enough courage to take risks but not old enough to understand the consequences of being a daughter to a mother and father who couldn’t be what you needed most. You were reaching for the stars, and they should have been the clouds, yet they caused the rain. Forcing you to struggle through the storm but that wasn’t your fault and it still isn’t. I can recall that one Thanksgiving where he seemed ungrateful or the Christmas where he entered our loving home seeming hateful. Your father taught you to settle for less, but you had the courage to give someone like me a chance. Someone different with something different to offer. Someone who could never treat his daughters the way your father has treated you.