I'm An Orphan Now ( Age 46 )

I used to rise from my bed,
I’d hit mum with a slipper on her head.

 

Just to make sure she wasn’t dead

Such was the fear I had as a child.

 

I used to dream she’d been replaced, by an alien from outer space.
That she wore a mask, which she would take off, if I was brave enough to ask.

 

Such was the fear I had as a child.

 

I dreamt she was inside a box,
she couldn’t get out it was locked.

 

I sobbed so loudly she would awake. I'd feel her gently stroking my brow and she would whisper softly, “Hush hush now.”

 

She was the one to whom I could cry, and she would know the reason why.

 

When she died I howled like a wolf who was alone.
Calling all his family home.

 

“Mum. I'm an orphan now.”

 

                                                     

Extract from 'Shhhh!!!! We Don't Talk About That' Taylor Crowshaw © 2018