The Forgotten Child

There is a place, that for most, is forgotten.
A place where now only memories can be.
It is a place where everyone must travel and if looked upon,
many times only pain and suffering can be seen.

Each of us must go through this place in our lives as we begin
to grow, for we are born there. As we grow we see the hurts and
pains of life. There are many questions as to why, but we are
thought to be too young to understand. So begins the life of
the forgotten child.

As a child, we all want to be loved. In the course of life we
cling to those who will give us this love we so desire. As we
begin to grow, we learn that the very ones that we depend on for
life's needs are the ones that cause the greatest pain. So the
first lesson that we learn is "To be loved, it must hurt." As
we grow we learn to hide the pains in order to keep the love we
crave. So grows the forgotten child.

So many times I have wondered what happens to that child that
never knew true love. Where is that child today? That child is
inside many of the people you see on the streets today. As a
forgotten child, we go through life looking for a way to forget.
So builds the walls of the forgotten child.

As this child grows the walls must be just a little bit higher
than before. As time grows on the child is totally closed within
those walls. These walls for a time were of great comfort and was
a place to run and be safe, a place to forget. Each brick represents
a part of life. Some hurts are very obvious, but others are more
obscure. Nobody sees, nobody notices, just how it gets started.
Wounds that were silent, wordless and cruel. Nobody saw how this
child began to die, even though life had just begun. Inch by inch
this child dies on the inside. So grows the captivity of the
forgotten child.

In time this child gets placed inside the walls to stay because it
is now too painful to let her out. Life goes on and now people have
to go through life without this child. It is so easy to leave her
inside and just get through the day. So is built the lid for the forgotten child.

As life progresses we learn to live without this child. But to
live without this child we also learn to live without love and joy.
Only the child could love.

There comes a time in our lives that the forgotten child begins to
ask to be heard. How does a child that never was allowed to love and
grow be heard? How does this child express the desires of heart?
There is the fear of not being understood or being rejected. Or
maybe there is a fear that they were the cause. Whatever the fear,
we keep that child silent and tell them that it is just better to
leave things as they are. Sometimes we let this child out just to
find out that it will be hurt all over again. So begins the forgetting
of the child once again.