[Jayne Osborn]

Is anyone having a go at this? Any suggestions about my attempt would be welcome.

Aged seven, I had never heard this word
before; instinctively I understood
that when I’d been referred to as a 'loof '
by relatives, it wasn’t something good.

My uncle and his wife were childless, and
we saw them very seldom. How could they
fail to appreciate that I was shy ?
Nobody knew the damage done that day.

Why did my mother tell me? Why repeat
the insult? (Should she not defend her child?)
She told me what ‘aloof’ meant! All I know
is that the hurt was never reconciled.

Now – over half a century has passed –
I’ve built up some self-confidence at last.