I fed off her blood

Sucked her dry

Stole all her time 

Crushed every dream she had

Killed any hope of her being young again 

The final drop of water that breaks the dam

I was a parasite inside her

I almost killed her because she didn't exterminate me when she had the chance 

Every time I look into her eyes I only see my reflection 

All the things she hated about my father 

Wrapped up in what everyone called a bundle of joy

She swears to all our relatives I'm her little mini me

I'm like her because she lies to keep me in line

I smile 

I pretend 

But behind closed doors I'm her worst nightmare 

She loves me like a moth loves fire

Any bad thing that's ever happened was my own doing 

If something went wrong in her life I was there in the background 

Always waiting 

Always watching 

In the back of her head reminding her 

She'll never be the mother she never had 

I will never be the daughter she wanted

As a toddler my parents were convinced I would never speak 

Now I can't stop and all my words are laced with a venom that burns my tongue 

I can't get the taste of her manipulation out of my mouth 

I'm secondhand smoke

Always lingering long after the cigarette's burnt out

She can't stand the smell but lights another one anyway 

She can't get rid of me

She needs the constant reminder of her failures

The last link to everything that could’ve been

I could've been more than a mosquito she kept on a leash 

I wasn't born with malicious intent 

But I was born hungry 

And she tried to starve me.