Kept

You were never a terrible mother
but you treated me like a doll,
making sure I properly reflected you.
If I wandered beyond your comfort zone,
it was how you perceived the ways
people saw you, a failure, a tragedy.

Mother, you were never terrible.
You were trapped in your own head.
Unable to see that people
didn't really judge you for the way
your perfect little boy failed
to meet your lofty expectations.

And so I grew up in a world where love
meant only that you trusted
I would be your perfect little doll,
forever kept upon your shelf.
Never seeing me as a human boy
hungry for life and seeking hope.