She laughed
I remember it vividly
Just once
A laugh so ingenuine that
I cringed—
The power
Behind the cringe haunts me to this day
She always scowled
Growling
Her eyebrow furrowed from the weight of my failures
But this once
A laugh so loud that
I cried—
The stains
On my cheeks lasted for weeks afterwards
Her laugh
Was at my own accomplishment
My decision
Not to go with her when she moved out
Her laugh
Was a laugh of disbelief
She could have sworn I was hers
That I would follow her to the ends of the earth
Her laugh
Was a knife through my head
I hadn't heard it in over a decade
Even if it wasn't real
Truly,
I was her perfect daughter.
Truly,
I should have never been born.
