Luminous [A poetry collection] ~ Canvas of Words

~ b a l l e r i n a ~

Trigger warning
This poem treats the subject of child neglect.
If you don't feel comfortable with this kind of content, please do not read.

~~~~~~~~~~

And the ballerina dances
atop the musical box,
like a graceful swan,
eyes closed in peace.

And next to her,
the little girl,
she sits before the window
and stares into the rain.

She wants to be like her ballerina,
of mesmerizing beauty.
Talented
and elegant,
but will she ever be?

She doesn't know,
but neither does she hold much hope,
for there is no time
to be someone else.
Not even just for a day.

'Cause Mommy and Daddy
don't love each other,
not like they used to do.
Now Mommy lives two hours away,
and Daddy gets drunk every day.

He's always busy,
always at work
or drinking
or staring down at his phone,

only once, she'd asked him to watch her dancing,
and he said sure,
and he disappeared
into the bathroom
and didn't return
before she went to bed.

She wonders,
how long her sister will stay this young,
she never seems to get older than four,

she loves her, she does,
with all of her heart,
but whenever she locks her door to dance,
her sister will start to cry,
and she knows that Daddy won't even care,
so she unlocks the door again.

She wonders,
how many times she'll still have to cut her hand,
trying to cook a meal for them.
Her Daddy won't help,
if she takes out a knife,
and begins to slice the old vegetables,
leaving scars and scratches behind.

She wonders,
if she'll ever live for herself,
a girl at the age of seven.

She wonders,
as she watches the rain,
silent tears on her pretty face.

And the ballerina dances
atop the musical box,
like a lonely swan,
eyes closed in despair.