The Little Child in You

By Mardhiah Husna

For those who never truly loved you

You hate the little child in you

For the sake of people around you

You hurt the little child in you

For people who never care about you

You ignore the little child in you

For the ones that always ill-treat you

You mistreat the little child in you

Stop doing what you're doing

Stop hating, stop hurting

Stop ignoring, stop mistreating

Protect the little child in you

The used-to-be lovely child

The used-to-be cheerful child

Yes, the little version of you

The one you should hold onto

The one who is always there for you

The one who will be with you

When the whole world is against you

Yes, the little child that is in you

You forget your little child's existence

And that happens because of you

All your life, you put others first

All your life, you're never your first

Author’s commentary

This is actually a palindrome. Now, try to read it again from bottom to top. When reading from top to bottom as usual, you see that the reason why you treat your inner child poorly is because you never put yourself first and always prioritise others. However, reading backward reveals that the reason you constantly put people ahead of yourself and never prioritise yourself is because of how you treat your inner child. Your inner child desires your love and affection; therefore, strive to focus more on yourself and cultivate self-love rather than prioritising those who don't even know how to spell your name.