Your Absence

My greatest influencer, absence

I was young but I still knew of your absence.

You weren’t there, and you thought we wouldn’t notice.

But I always felt the distance.

Mom would be strong for us, say he just stepped out for a bit.

She’d put on a brave face because she had to hide it

She’d hide the pain and tears.

You were absent for years.

The hurt you put her through filled me with hate.

Hate for you, for the way you made us feel

Abandoned, lonely, scared of our family’s fate.

But your absence made us strong, not weak, brave, not meek.

We learned to deal

With every type of situation without you.

We soon started to heal

With your absence, we grew through and through.

Absence gave us courage, made us realize how unnecessary you were.

We never even needed you.

Your absence made us better.

So I thank you for this, for not being there

Thank you for your absence being my greatest influencer.