One Word

A poem about how childhood affects us always

One Word

One word
Is all it takes
One inflection placed
Too heavy on
One word,
Then I am back;
Confidence so fragile,
Like eggshells
Whose fate always lies in
Being broken,
This age of
Fear and dread
Terrifies
Memories ignite,
Setting fire to
My self worth
I am stupid,
I am worthless
I am evil.

After all these years
His voice still deafens,
Undermining
Every waking hour.
Time to time,
He fades to shadow
But then there is
One word
And I am back.
With the utterance of just
One word.