my Father

A sweet little girl sat in the middle of a clean white room. 

A puppy came up to play.

He sniffed all around her.

A red ball rolled out of nowhere.

The girl picked it up. 

The puppy began to whimper, wanting to play ball.

She threw the ball as hard as she could, giggling at the puppy’s delight.

The puppy came racing back, ears flapping.

He placed the ball in the girl’s hand.

As he did, he bit her. 

Just enough to draw blood and make the girl cry out in shock.

She looked at her hand in astonishment.

The girl heard the dog whimper to play again. 

Surely he wouldn’t bite twice.

But bite he did.

He tore skin from her torso,

from her arms, from her legs,

from her head.

Finally he ran away, as if done with her now,

A man stepped from behind an old oak tree.

He was sobbing in great heart-wrenching sobs.

He picked His little girl up into his arms.

She said, “Why did you not come when I screamed?”

The man said, “I was screaming right along with you,

I was gripping the tree so hard as to not come to you.”

“What am I now?” the girl asked the man.

With tears streaming down His face He said, 

“You are becoming who I created you to be.”