Do Not Speak My Name

Do not speak my name—
you do not know me.
I am not your daughter in anything but blood,
and even that thread turns my stomach.

Your disloyalty drips like venom,
a betrayal so vile it curdles the air.
You are a disappointment—
not just as a father,
but as a man, as a soul,
as anything worth calling human.

Something in you is broken,
so shattered you cannot love
the very life you created.
You fear me because I am better than you.
But your fear, your weakness, your hate—
those are your chains, not mine.
And so I tell you:
Do not speak my name again.

I never asked you to turn your back on anyone.
I only asked you to see me,
to know me,
to love me.
And yet, even that simple plea
was too much for your shallow heart,
too much for your spineless shadow of a soul.

You sit in judgment,
mocking your own father-in-law,
yet your love, if it can be called that,
was saved for only one child.
A chosen one,
while the rest of us stood in your indifference,
your neglect.
A hypocrite—you wear that title like a crown,
a king of nothing,
presiding over your paper-thin lies.

And it sucks, doesn’t it?
That the child who stood strong
was the one you betrayed the most.
That you who is, so small,
so weak,
so pathetic,
let jealousy rot your heart
until there was nothing left
but bitterness and bile.

You hide behind your stories of abuse,
but the truth shines through:
You did nothing for us.
You did nothing for even her.
Even when she was drowning,
grasping for life in the throes of addiction,
you enabled her,
you stood back and let her fall.

Even your grandchildren—
their pain, their neglect,
their cries you reported with empty words—
you left them to suffer, too.

You are a failure.
Not just as a father,
but as a man.

You claim intelligence,
but show me the proof.
You cling to some ancient test,
some fleeting number
to justify your crumbling facade.

But you live in a house you don’t own,
fighting battles that serve no one,
choking on your pride
while offering nothing.

You are nothing.
Do not speak my name.
You lost that right
the day you turned your back
and proved you couldn’t even love
what was yours to cherish. 

And that is your curse to bear,
not mine.