I have made the decision to pre-record my poem for the final section of my piece rather than speak it. I feel that it would be more effective and easier for the audience to hear every word. Below is the poem:

Sometimes you were kind, sometimes you were fun
Sometimes you were a mum
You were exactly what she needed, you knew all the right things to say
Sometimes just sometimes you brightened up her day
She has boxed it up and buried it in the ground
Then you and her dad started to argue and things turns bad
She just wanted a family what everyone else had
Just know she did love you
You were her queen with a crown
But all that turned to shit you let her down
She doesn’t know why you left, she doesn’t know where you went

She has boxed it up and buried it in the ground
But just think of what you have missed out on
Think of the time you could’ve spent
Going shopping and talking about unimportant stuff
But no, even though she was your daughter
That reason wasn’t good enough
She has boxed it up and buried it in the ground

Behind your shadow, she stands and falls
It’s a tough battle, in which she feels so small
Her feelings toward you, you might think are dumb
Sad, upset, confused, angry, hurt, and numb
When she needed a mum, you were not there
to talk about boys or to fix her hair

She has boxed it up and buried it in the ground
Yes, you did call, every once and a while
but an ocean of tears hides behind her smile
She sees other girls laugh with their moms
She goes dizzy with swirls, and crashes like a bomb

She has boxed it up and buried it in the ground

Tell her how to love someone
who doesn’t love her back
Tell her how to respect someone
who doesn’t deserve her respect
Tell her how to trust someone
who betrayed her so badly
Tell her how to get along with someone
who brought her nothing but endless tears
Tell her how to forgive someone
who hurt her so severely
Tell her how to open her heart to someone
who broke it to pieces too many times

She has boxed it up and buried it in the ground

She has grown up before everyone’s eyes except yours

You don’t see that kind of thing behind closed doors
So she will continue to smile and move on without you

While you sit there and do whatever it is you do

She is not going to dwell on the past, cause her conscience is clear
She doesn’t even know who you are anymore, but she has one fear
That one day her phone will ring, and you’ll be on the other end
Trying to tell her sorry I love you, but she’ll know it’s all pretend

She has boxed it up and buried it in the ground
She doesn’t need you anymore, she’s doing perfectly well
Her dad has stepped in as mum from that position you fell
You don’t deserve that label, you have abused its meaning
If you think she will ever love, miss or talk to you, you need to stop dreaming
She is stronger, happier and more confident too
All of that came from her dad, none of it was you

Because it’s too late to be a mummy she is all grown up now

And she is making it somehow
And she will continue to make it through

Just like any other day without you

She has boxed it up and buried it in the ground
Boxed it up and buried it in the ground
burned it up and thrown it away