It was a bolt from the blue that shocked the entire system,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trouble was brewin\u2019 but still you never saw it coming,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Looking back now on those good ol\u2019 days, the contrast is\nheartbreaking,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was laughs and good times galore, signs of a rock-solid unit,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The guardians loved one another, you and the sibs their\nlittle tribe of miscreants,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Experienced highs and lows like everyone, got back on track\nafter every single one,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fractured unions now a frequent occurrence but had faith Mom\nand Pops won\u2019t be one of them,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then cracks started forming on the surface, smiles rare as\ndiamonds, as time went on and on the future seemed less certain,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fast forward to the present Mom was glued to the tube while you\nwere messing with the sibs, <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pops wasn\u2019t home, still out on a work trip,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Seemed like good old-fashioned normalcy, a typical Sunday\nevening,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then came the berg that sunk the vessel beneath the ocean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shouldn\u2019t have been unexpected, been sailing over rough seas\nlately,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More than a few storms, took \u2018em longer to get back on\ncourse,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even what was trivial served as kindling for raging fires,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Old remedies failed to extinguish \u2018em, their once undeniable\nchemistry nothing short of dire,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Still felt like a gut punch from Tyson, nobody likes to lose\na parent,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You and the sibs been drifting due to changing interests, nothing\nlike sorrow to get you reunited,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All the while you wonder, as their first-born, how the one\nyou once looked up to, who clothed, provided for and raised you, could up and\nleave just like that, without a farewell hug at that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just a simple text message, talk about insincere, so much\nfor precious memories from the past twenty years,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the subject of familial breakdowns, night after night\nprayed you\u2019d never join the club,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But life had other plans for ya, shit is totally fucked up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You were thrust the unofficial role of co-pilot, Ma can only\ndo so much on her own,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fresh out of teens, still unsure of your life\u2019s goals,\nforced into a new role, spat into a world that devours even the bold, <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Work turns out to be your safe haven, a distraction from\nyour current situation,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Away from the anguish and bitterness in equal measures,\nreminders of unwanted changes,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The daily commute serves as a time of reflection, though not\nin a way that begets enlightenment,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rather to purge the heart and mind of inner pain and\nsadness, why did it have to come to this?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Got you contemplating the dark side, embrace many a broken\nsoul\u2019s vices,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But deep down you knew better, for all their faults they\ndidn\u2019t raise a fool and delinquent,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Still, the inner anger got you thinking foolish temptations,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Must be draining to go through pain alone while the world\nremains happily oblivious,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Misery loves company but strength of mind ain\u2019t having it,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gotta stay on the straight and narrow, new responsibilities\nrequire you to do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The fake smiles mask internal tears, got you wondering how\nmany years before the pain subsides if at all, after all, this was one of your\nworse fears,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Happy fam snatched away just like that, what happened to\ntheir chemistry from the past?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Been caught in storms before, no one makes it out bone-dry,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Time and time again they made it to the other side, sometimes\ndifferent brollies were required, but damn it they got out of them alive,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then you have the mental gymnastics nothing short of\nsoul-sapping, <\/p>\n\n\n\n
You resent \u2018em for blowing it, for taking away from you a\ncomplete support system,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Takes two to tango, the handiwork\u2019s barely one-sided, but to\nthe one that played deserter the blame is compounded,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bitter feelings are inevitable, can\u2019t believe he walked\naway,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Feeling angry, scared and betrayed, will life ever be the\nsame?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Should\u2019ve been here to show the way, act as your guide\nthrough life,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But now he ain\u2019t and you don\u2019t know why, just that he left\ny\u2019all high and dry,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fangs are out for her, too, for making mountains out of mole\nhills,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On his case constantly for even the most useless things, who\nwants to put up with that shit?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Juxtaposed against the love that offspring naturally feel\nfor their parents, <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Can try to deny it but can\u2019t simply just forget about it,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The sacrifices made for you and your sibs, through grown\neyes you recognize all of this,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Couldn\u2019t get to where you are present had they not hustled\nhard for it,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As far as parenting you couldn\u2019t ask for better, they raised\nyou and the sibs proper,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Insulated y\u2019all from all manner of harm and danger, guided\ny\u2019all through your problems,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In many ways you kids were privileged and for that you ought\nto stay grateful for it,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When all\u2019s said and done they still deserve their flowers, recent\noccurrences can\u2019t and won\u2019t erase \u2018em,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So now you\u2019re left in this conundrum, though the betrayal\ncuts deep,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Opposing feelings on extreme ends of the scale, haunts you\ndamn near every night before you sleep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So ends another day, mask on while slogging through work,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shelved it upon arriving home, life with fam now seems\nrather awkward,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before the hard part hit you, that would be the hours before\nbed,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hearing sibs and mother crying, their means of purging, the\nsound reverberates around your head,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trying to stay strong for their sake, takes every ounce of\nyour being, <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nodding off, finally, a brief respite from grief and\nuncertainty,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Times are tough right now, Kid, but soldier on and you\u2019ll be\nfine, <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s ok to feel sad or mad, to ask and wonder why,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Life took a different turn, certainly one that\u2019s mind-boggling,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just know you aren\u2019t to blame for it, not all unions go the\ndistance,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Keep a strong front if you must, the younger sibs need\nsomeone to hold onto,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even Momma\u2019s struggling hard, she, too, needs a rock to\ncling to,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Break down if you must, let the tears fall, don\u2019t keep it\nbottled up,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On your lonesome, too, if you don\u2019t want them to see you\nbroken and torn up,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remember that winners never quit and quitters never win, don\u2019t\nlet nothing break you,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He taught you that long ago and it will always ring true,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking of lessons, you can still learn from \u2018em, too,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How not to communicate with your significant other, the one\nwith whom you vowed to live happily ever after,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not to sweat the small stuff, match your emotions with the\nmatter,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Getting hot over the irrelevant, such behaviour does not\nserve to flatter, <\/p>\n\n\n\n
To never quit on one another, they were supposed to be in it\ntogether,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For every problem there\u2019s a solution, might take some effort\nbut eventually you\u2019ll find it,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But if the fairytale ends, if somehow it didn\u2019t last, surely\nthere\u2019s better ways to part that ain\u2019t cold, abrupt and crass,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Though you\u2019d rather forget this particular chapter, do file\nit for reference later,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\u2019s not telling where life might take you, might find\nyourself in situations similar,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Until then just carry on, though it\u2019s hard, what doesn\u2019t\nkill you makes you stronger,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Step up and thrive where they\u2019d stumbled, you still have a\nbright future. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It was a bolt from the blue that shocked the entire system, Trouble was brewin\u2019 but still you never saw it coming, Looking back now on those good ol\u2019 days, the contrast is heartbreaking, It was laughs and good times galore, signs of a rock-solid unit, The guardians loved one another, you and the sibs … <\/p>\n