Bare

When I was young my family was poor in pocket but rich in heart,

My separated parents thought teaching morals to my sister and I would be a good place to start.

We knew right from wrong and showed it in our own kind of way,

We loved spending time together, with both friends and family we'd play.

Me and my sister have always been close,

We'd try to cheer each other up whenever one became morose.

This isn't to say that we were always happy,

Sometimes we'd be at each others throats getting far too scrappy!

Most of our arguments were short and petty,

Some directed at our parents for serving us Value ravioli spaghetti...

Perfectly pleasant was this life it seemed,

That is of course until circumstance or fate intervened.

Our father fell in love with a woman who wanted to move away,

A fight for custody began, my sister and I uncertain of whether or not to stay.

A heavy burden to bear for children both so young,

Mother and father knew our decision would surely hurt the other one.

My sister and I chose to stay together, no matter who wins,

The victor was our father who told us, this is where a new adventure begins.

Fast forward to me in my teenage years,

Life is vastly different from my childhood ending it appears.

A divorce threatens the house we live in as a marriage had began to crumble,

I bury my head in school trying academically not to stumble.

My sister had moved back away from all the noise,

Meanwhile back with mum she had two new joys.

Five kids in total then, now that's quite a lot,

Sometimes when she would phone her words felt like being shot.

Having a hard time both at home and school,

The black dog called my number until I was under its rule.

"Are you a girl?" younger boys at school would ask,

I'd answer with violence then take them to task.

"You must be gay!" Girls would say,

Anytime I chose to opt out of dared kissing play.

The truth is I was a little scared,

For identity challenges I had yet to figure out, I was ill prepared.

At this point my Dad and I moved away,

Homeless in a sense until our local council sorted us somewhere else to stay.

We had a new place our very own home,

During this time Mum would say, I'd always have a place with her, I'll never be alone.

School days had all but ended,

College began the environment there was splendid!

Home life was interesting, of this I have no doubt,

For my Dad was an online presence but not one chasing clout.

A hoarder and an artist sharing life under one roof,

Makes for messy house keeping having guests around was quite the spoof.

Romances were my father's Achilles heel,

Some got him in trouble but he pursued them all with the same zeal.

The story of my teen years concludes roughly the same as my childhood before,

My father finds the love of a woman and I move to the option I can't ignore.

One returns, another one will leave,

My Nan passed that night I believe.

For the longest time I swore it was my fault,

Feelings I didn't share with anyone as I kept them deep within my inner vault.

I was grateful for everything my mother had done,

A chance to play with my younger kin recapturing lost childhood and having fun.

Reconnected with family, my greatest accomplishment yet,

This isn't the full story of my life but just young pieces i'll never forget...