https://wordofthedaychallenge.wordpress.com/2026/08/01/pardon/?page_id=9970
Pardon the interruption.
What were you thinking —
that you could judge me,
diminish me,
decide who I was?
I did nothing wrong.
The blame was never mine.
You were the adult.
I was the child.
Your words defined me,
even though they never should have.
And now, years later,
I’m still untangling them —
no end in sight,
your voice replaying
in a loop
I never asked for.