The way you hurt me

You beat me. Aggressively. Savagely.

Arms swinging at me wildly,

While you giggle.

It brings so much joy to your heart

Every time I scream

In protest and in pain

I can see it in your eyes.

The way they twinkle and glimmer

In amusement of my agony.

You ram right into me and smile

You smack me and laugh

You bite me,

Sinking your teeth into my flesh until I scream

And try desperately to shake you off of me.

And when you’re not within striking distance,

You find things, heavy things, hard things

To throw in my direction.

I’m bruised

I’m bloodied

All of me hurts.

And yet,

My heart is full of love for you.

I’m yours, unconditionally.

I get angry and upset

Sometimes I cry

But I never stop loving you.

I never stop wanting to be near you.

It’s not your fault

You don’t know how strong you are.

You don’t know the damage it does to me.

You’re just a toddler,

My otherwise very sweet baby boy.