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| ROBERT MARGETTS |
WHY
DID MOMMY LEAVE YOU?
"Was
it my fault?" asked his son.
His father
froze,
The question
striking harder
Than any
shattered plate.
His eyes sank
to the kitchen floor,
To the mountain
of crusted dishes
Slumped in a
cold, silent sink,
To
coffee-stained mugs,
Their handles
snapped like broken promises,
Scattered
across the countertops.
Jagged shards
of ceramic
Glittered
beneath the overhead light
Like fragments
of the life he'd wrecked,
Spilling across
the kitchen tile
Like fallen
stars no one wished upon.
The dishes bore
the scars of his rage.
That was how he
punished himself.
When guilt
became too heavy to carry,
He hurled it at
plates,
At glasses,
At anything
that would break
More easily
than he had.
Bent forks and
chipped bowls
Littered the
room like evidence,
Each piece
whispering memories
Of vows traded
away
For temptation,
For
selfishness,
For a fleeting
hunger
That left
nothing behind
But ashes and
regret.
Of everything
he had destroyed.
Of everything
he had abandoned
To rust and
decay.
So he stood in
silence,
A statue carved
from remorse,
Hearing his
son,
Yet unable to
answer.
His hurt sat
inside him
Like stagnant
water,
Dark and
unmoving.
“No,” he
whispered.
“She left
because of me.”
WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS POEM?
The central meaning of the poem is accountability, regret, and the lasting consequences of personal choices.
On the surface, it's about a son asking his father why he got divorced. But beneath that, the poem explores a man confronting the damage he caused to his family through infidelity, neglect, and dishonesty.
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| ROBERT MARGETTS |
