Therapy Through Poetry Forum I'm new to this group

I'm new to this group

Hello All,

I'm JMariah and I told a bit about my story in the introductory thread. Here is one of my poems that became part of my healing.

Father’s Hands

Her father�s hands had crafted the ornate lattice work

that now frames her weeping image in the glass. Such strong,

sociable hands. Calloused,

smiling hands.

And no one ever saw the dirt hidden under his fingernails.

If only someone would have noticed how dirt warps

a face, standing alone in a glass, staring out with empty

eyes, crying to herself. But no one saw

her stiffen beneath her father�s hands

or recoil from his beer-stained mouth pressed

against her little-girl body. No one saw

her put on the smile she borrowed from a Hollywood movie

or sees her now,

dancing between lovers

and never making a choice � no one,

but the reflection in the glass he made for her, and me.