I've been thinking a lot lately about generational trauma and the things our parents and ancestors have had to deal with which is then passed down to us. I think you perfectly describe the silent torture many of our elders had to endure, and how toxic holding these things in can be.


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*\[In honor of my late father\]*

It’s hard to ignore the man on the ceiling

It’s harder to know just what he was feeling

Why didn’t you ask for help? Was it fear, was it pride?

Was it shame of the things that you dealt with inside?

Did it hurt? Were you scared? Were you thinking of us?

Did you find the freedom for which you desperately lust?

Was it desperation or was it an act of defiance?

Why do I ask why, just to be deafened by silence?

Every time I ask why I’m just constantly reminded

That it’s hard to ignore the man on the ceiling

At least I finally know what you must have been feeling.

&amp;#x200B;

**Comments:**

1. [https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/x72vgh/comment/inc9hjn/?utm\_source=share&amp;utm\_medium=web2x&amp;context=3](https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/x72vgh/comment/inc9hjn/?utm_source=share&amp;utm_medium=web2x&amp;context=3)
2. [https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/x781r0/comment/inc9112/?utm\_source=share&amp;utm\_medium=web2x&amp;context=3](https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/x781r0/comment/inc9112/?utm_source=share&amp;utm_medium=web2x&amp;context=3)

ceiling.