What They did to me - What ill never do

By Sinchana Srikanth Iyengar

they never held me when i cried,

their arms were empty rooms, cold and hollow,

a silence heavier than the night,

where my small heart broke, unheard, alone.

they spoke in shadows, their voices sharp—

words like knives carving scars i still wear,

love was a stranger i never met,

only echoes of absence filled the air.

they taught me fear disguised as care,

taught me to hide, to be less than whole,

to swallow tears like bitter pills,

to live in chains of a toxic soul.

i learned that love was conditional,

a fragile gift, never freely given,

a cruel game of pushing away,

until all that remained was unforgiven.

but i swear—oh, i swear—

my child will never know this pain,

no shattered dreams behind their eyes,

no walls of cold in their warm frame.

i will be the fortress, strong and kind,

the harbor where their heart can rest,

the lullaby that never breaks,

the endless arms that hold the best.

no silence will swallow their cries,

no harsh words will bruise their skin,

i’ll hide all love so fiercely close,

they’ll never feel what i was in.

no broken nights alone in fear,

no toxic webs to trap their mind,

just endless light, just gentle hands,

a world where love is not confined.

i carry their wounds deep inside,

a ghost i wear beneath my skin,

but i’ll bury this pain forever,

so my child’s world can begin again.

they stole my childhood, left me bare,

but i’ll fill the void with endless care,

i’ll build a home from shattered dreams,

where love is more than just a scheme.

i’ll never be what they were to me—

a coldness that can never heal—

i’ll be the fire that never dies,

the warmth my child will always feel.

because i’ve lived the darkest nights,

and now i vow to hold the light,

to save my child from heartache’s grip,

and let love’s song forever slip...

into their soul, soft and true,

where broken things are made anew.

By Sinchana Srikanth Iyengar