He didn’t love me the way they do in the movies or songs
I wasn’t his little girl; I was not his pride nor joy.
He gave me distance and called it raising an independent child
He gave me tough love and called it prepping me for the real world
He placed me as second best and told me I should be grateful to know him at all
A 12-year-old girl wondering why her bestfriends dad felt more like home than her own
His cold shoulder gave me a relentless need to impress
His absence gave me a desperation for love
His self-importance gave me the acceptance of neglect
A 25-year-old woman choosing an age gap relationship with an emotionally unavailable man
My dad loved me the only way he knew how
My dad loved me the way he loved himself
Not at all
Wild Little Hare 