© 2021 Ellyn Mayfair

All Rights Reserved

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You’re special they said

we picked you out

from a smorgasbord

of abandoned babies

secreted away

then matched to order

made to fulfill fantasies

of unrelated relations

 

You’re special they said

changing your name

before your diapers

unwanted origins discarded

truth hidden

approved of when you fit in

their idea of who

you should be for them

punishing true specialness

right out of you

 

You’re special they said

so must conform to

rules and beliefs

of last century norms

no one will love you

like we do

be grateful

suppress your own needs

repress your instincts

ours is the only right way

 

You’re special they said

and it became a curse

of expectations

she couldn’t live up to

didn’t want to

they’d bought her and

thought that purchased

her heart and loyalty

but that would belong

to the one who would

open the toxic cage

of undeserved baggage

and set her free

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Prompt: Write a special poem