Promises Are Hard to Keep (Buried in My Own Unmet Needs)
Lillian Moffitt
I promised to love you forever
I meant it when I said it
I didn’t know the difference between love and need.
We stopped needing each other
Love left when need did
I promised to mother better than I had been mothered
I meant it when I said it
I didn’t know that meant learning where I was wounded
I tried to mold my children instead of healing myself
My mother wounds wounded them
I promised myself I would take care of my needs
I meant it when I said it
I didn’t know the needs of others would demand so much of me
I took care of them until I was buried in my own unmet needs
I sacrificed “me” for them
I have stopped making promises
I look for where the need is
I do what I am able
It’s better this way
Promises are hard to keep
I meant it when I said it
I didn’t know the difference between love and need.
We stopped needing each other
Love left when need did
I promised to mother better than I had been mothered
I meant it when I said it
I didn’t know that meant learning where I was wounded
I tried to mold my children instead of healing myself
My mother wounds wounded them
I promised myself I would take care of my needs
I meant it when I said it
I didn’t know the needs of others would demand so much of me
I took care of them until I was buried in my own unmet needs
I sacrificed “me” for them
I have stopped making promises
I look for where the need is
I do what I am able
It’s better this way
Promises are hard to keep
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Lillian Moffitt is a Gen-X mom of three and grandma of four. She lives with her youngest child, a dog, and a cat in Portland, Oregon and works as a Peer Wellness Specialist in a community mental health organization. She writes from her emotions and life experiences.
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