Going Her Own Way (Poetry)

A serious child
too quiet for some
not close to her dad
at odds with her mum
no siblings to scorn

those efforts she made
to fit her small role
until it was clear
they wished on the whole
she’d never been born

Their family like
a tableau in wax
not many observed
the chips and the cracks
how tempers grew torn

She kept her head down
her thoughts all her own
and bided her time
life merely on loan
thin blood ties well-worn

As soon as she could
she went her own way
no doubt in her heart
no reason to stay
so no cause to mourn