Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Poetry for narcissistic parents

I wrote this for Vicarious Rising's awesome poetry contest (check it out) and I wanted to share it with everyone who might get a chuckle out of it. I hope VR won't mind.

Poem to my ungrateful, unloving, callous “adult” daughter

Your birth was hard, oh precious one
I tried to hold you in
And you yourself seemed not to want
Your journey to begin

When you escaped my warm, soft womb
You wept and wailed and cried
Isn’t life hard? Wasn’t it nice
When you were still inside?

When you were young you needed me
Again for me you cried
You said “I love you, Mama” then:
Apparently, you lied.

Because now that you’re all grown up
You don’t think I’m so nice
You don’t obey my every wish
Or heed my wise advice

You don’t light up when I come to
Surprise you at your door
When I hang up, you don’t beg me
To talk a little more

Your husband and your snotty friends
Stole your love away
Don’t have children, this I know:
You will rue the day

A distraught mother


The mother goddess


When you were tiny, I fed you –
Not at your every cry –
(You always were a drama queen)
And, hey, you didn't die.

I gave you clothes – I'll grant you this:
Those hand-me-downs were old
(You weren't as pretty as I was)
But you were never cold.

Remember, once, when you were small,
With your toy trains I played!
Like these above, so too this debt
Can never be repaid!

And most of all, I gave you life!
You owe your life to me!
And those that grant the gift of life
Must always worshiped be!

It isn't fair! I gave you life
And then you went astray!
I should be granted this small right:
To take that life away!

Life-bestowers have demanded
Human sacrifice.
For this goddess your eternal
Bondage should suffice.

Your loving mother

An Estranged Child Sees the Light after Having Been Pestered Mercilessly by Persistent Narcissistic Mother

You gave me life. Blood, milk and tears.
With care you nurtured all my fears.
You taught me well not to rebel
Alas, I chose the road to Hell.

I thought I could survive alone,
Without your love, all on my own.
I wanted you to leave me be.
How blind I was! But now I see:

A mother’s love will never cease –
A wayward child will not find peace.
I understand I’m less than dirt:
Please let me back under your skirt!

Your Lowly Repentant Prodigal Child


Honor your parent


- Respect and love are owed to him
Who gave you all you’ve got
Who made you, kept you, and always
Loved you – no matter what

Who always had a home for you
Though you were always free
Who always listened to your words
Of thanks, or rage, or glee

Who always had his wise, good ways
But let you find your own.
- You mean my narcissistic dad?
- Oh, Hell, no! God alone.

(An imaginary conversation with a priest)

9 comments:

  1. I really loved it, pronoia!

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  2. Yeah, really great! I think I'll try my hand at this too!

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  3. My favorite part of this is the hook at the end of this stanza:

    When you were young you needed me
    Again for me you cried
    You said “I love you, Mama” then:
    Apparently, you lied.

    You said "I love you"
    Apparently you lied...

    That's brilliant

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    Replies
    1. I hear that all of the time, and the more she says it, the more I think it's true.

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  4. I don't mind at all! I think the poem is fabulous. You should be sharing it wherever you like. :)

    And thank you for being the first brave soul to submit a poem!

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  5. LOL. Nice Dorothy Parker wit and several tendencies nailed perfectly.
    -GKA

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  6. Hey! I'm relatively new to the online ACON existence! I posted a reply to an old thread on Upsi's blog - I didn't realise there was a legitimate poetry contest going on!

    Thought I'd C&P my contribution here as well - LOVE your poems! :D Ha ha ha!

    (Originally posted as a comment (July 31, 2012) on Upsi's blog (You Don't Have to Dance for Them) - A Matter of Interpretation)

    A poem (dedicated to VicariousRising, Issendai & Upsi and anyone else who understands my sentiments!):

    Support for Parents of Estranged Children

    Your loins conceived me, your hands cradled me at birth,

    You went countless nights sleepless, and your smiles gave me mirth.

    I loved you so dearly, you were my whole world.

    You changed all my diapers, and you cleaned where I hurled.

    That precious bond between us, my total reliance on you;

    I mirrored when you were happy, and when you were sad, I was too.

    Then one fateful day, around the age of reason, I grew apart.

    I saw myself as my own person, with my own soul and my own heart.

    I stopped needing you so fully, didn't come crying to you.

    In fact I became rebellious; I differentiated, said "Mom who?".

    The rest was a blur - I was no longer a babe. I had breasts and used make-up; my legs, I shaved.

    You lovingly protected me from the 'horrors of adulthood', when I callously matured and moved out of the neighbourhood.

    I left you alone, withered, grey and menopausal. I ran off into my own existence without your express approval.

    How thoughtlessly I took your place as 'mother' in my own right. How deliberately I sparkled and shone without you dimming my spotlight.

    Even today, I rarely think of my mother. I have my own concerns, my own full life, no other.

    It never occurs to me to worship at your altar; I grew up, I left home, I never falter.

    After all you sacrificed, after all you endured; I maliciously grew up, I intentionally matured.

    ****

    Ha ha ha! Just off the top of my head! Any other takers? :)

    Hopefully everyone reading Upsi's site and encouraging her on the way sees the sarcasm in my little ditty. ;)

    - Maliciously Matured.

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  7. Oops, I was so excited to share my contribution, I forgot to include my comment on your first poem (Poem to my ungrateful, unloving...)

    "Wasn't it nice when you were still inside?"

    This is the creepiest thing I've read in recent history! In my mind's eye I could SEE the longing look in my own mother's eyes, wishing she could shrink me to an embryo and reinsert me (eeew - apologies for that mental image!).

    But what a great line that was! :) Well done! I actually cringed and whimpered at that one. You hit the nail right on the head!

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I encourage comments!!!