Here I am

Story ID:	692
Written by:	Catherine AimeeRuth Grainger (bio, link, contact, other stories)
Story type:	Poem
Location:	Mauston Wisconsin United States
Year:	1990
Person:	The foster parents

HERE I AM

Here I am a long time gone,
out of sight, out of my mind.
Wish I could say you were wrong,
but lies won’t be left behind.
Of the truths you saw for me,
only one hasn’t come to be.
You believed I’d come back to you,
that’s the last thing I’d ever do.
Oh sure, I’ve been down,
but I get back up again.
I’ve been the talk of the town.
Made a mess of things now and then,
but I’ve learned from my mistakes.
I’ve given as much as I could take.
I’ve taken many wrong turns.
But you can’t say I never learn.
When I left,You felt betrayed.
Couldn’t believe I’d really go?
Even with the hurt, I should’ve stayed?
Why not keep taking blow after blow?
That was the only way you knew?
Said it was to show “I love you.”
But even then I could understand,
You don’t love a child
with the back of your hand.