It was late one August evening
when you knocked on our door
After four years with no contact,
what did you come here for?
We were surprised to see you
and a little skeptic too
What was it that you wanted?
we never really knew.

With your new husband behind you
and your dog by your side
You started spinning stories
we already knew were lies ~
Amidst the sudden confusion
the reason you were there
Was the welfare of the children
my husband and you shared.

You admitted after thinking
you thought that it was right
That these children know their father
without the vicious fights ~
But you said their memories of him
were not of the good times
But the abuse he had inflicted
that remained in their minds.

You told us stories of the children
throughout their growing years
And how you were voted at their school
"the mother of the year" ~
You were also proud of your eldest son
and the fights he always had
When protecting his younger siblings
or whenever he was mad.

You then shared about your daughter
and the pain she had been through
A new kind of abuse inflicted
but we already knew ~
You were adamant of the details
at the hand she suffered from ~
So why was she left alone there,
and where had you gone?

The youngest of the three children
that my husband shared with you
Had become a quiet little boy
though still angry too ~
You told us how the boys had grown
and your beautiful little girl
With two more little ones, you said
these children were your world.

So now you offered a meeting
where we would finally see
The children my husband always loved
and missed so desparately ~
On the condition he never hurt them
for he was their greatest fear
Or you would take them away again
and suddenly disappear.

So you made many promises as you left
but we wondered why
After all this time you came to us,
and you only fed us lies ~
And so the drama began each time
you called and we spoke to you
The plans were changed, something came up ~
but what could we say or do?

My husband would get his hopes up
just as you had planned
Then you'd pull the rug from under him ~
did you hope to force his hand?
And so you had given us nothing
except ten days of stress
And though he missed his children,
he could take no more of this.

So he told you kindly not to call
don't contact us again
For where ever you were concerned
we knew we'd never win ~
And so we hope that maybe one day
in those children's eyes
They'll see you for who you really were ~
the mother of all lies.

© Christina
14th May, 2001

"This is written about the time my husband's ex-wife and her husband came to our door last August, offering us promises of seeing the children. After ten days of her calling and changing plans again and again, we decided we could take no more of her mind games and wanted nothing more to do with her. Even at the sacrifice of seeing the children. It was so like her to "dangle promises in front of you" and then snatch them away! She had fed the children so full of lies about their father that they now fear him, and we can only hope that one day they will see the truth in those lies."