You never held me, you never said I love you, you never read me a story, or tucked me in at night, you hated me, despised me, found a way to humiliate me, you taunted me with me every mistake, when there are so many that you make, you hit me and slapped, you whipped me and beat me, you laughed when I failed, you stared and you stared when I sat at the table, an empty plate in front of me, "may I have more please?" ,"No" you would say, I turned my face away, from your cynical grin, from which I could not escape, "please", I begged when I asked for some money, and "No" was what you said, "Can I-","No", "May I-", "No" , I learned not to ask, I learned to do as you said, I learned not question, I learned not to cry, I learned not to fall, and I learned how to cook, I learned not to make mistakes, I learned to become tough and solid, I learned how to live without you.