From my first breath
I knew
It was my job
to take care
of you
Hearing you cry
wiping your tears
With every meltdown
every crisis
every emergency
I was there
to take care
of you
The guilt I felt
for your loss
and your pain
It wasn’t my fault
I wasn’t to blame
But every moment
every fear
I was there
to take care
of you
Soon I accepted
my place in this world
my value
my reality
my worth
And in my life
with every meltdown
every crisis
every emergency
I’ve been there
to take care
of everyone else
Because no one
should cry alone
Soon I had my own kids
my own family
my own life
And it became
an honor
a blessing
my job
To wipe their tears
comfort their fears
and take care
of them
Why am I still feeling guilty?
It wasn’t my fault
I wasn’t to blame
And yet my life
is the same
Without a crisis
a moment
a fear
an emergency
a meltdown
a tear
I ask
Who am I?
I was a child
you were
my parents
I was a child
I was your therapist
You were my clients
I was a teenager
You were my children
I was a child
with no time
to be a child
With no one to
show me the way
to guide me
to teach me
to hold me
And now
with every crisis
every fear
every emergency
every tear
I am there
to take care
of everyone
Because no one
should cry alone
As I sit here
crying alone
Amberley Charlotte ©4.26.23
Photo Cred: https://unsplash.com/@spce
Amberley Charlotte Writes 