A budding writer's collection

A Woman

There was a woman

Just about everyone who knew her

Put their two penn'orth,

'Ain't nothing sane inside that li'l skull!'

'It's probably the weather,

It's probably the mother,

Or, it's probably that brother,

That's what's got her all crazy!'

It's probably the beep in her ears,

Or, the shaking and her fears

Maybe it's trying to breathe through the tears,

And the water in and here!

Diffusing lines of day and night,

Diffusing lines of this day and the next,

A world that seems to be a theatre stage,

And the cynic in her that shows up,

In character, day in and day out

She weeps, and the world turns away,

She screams, and the sounds never come,

She begs until her cries are but whimpers,

And then she pulls on her safety,

On the bed, under the quilt

She's supposed to know it all,

And be strong enough to face it all,

With that smile that took all her might,

The broken shards of herself be damned!

O Night! You hear her speak,

No fear distorts her voice,

No mask can stay intact

In the moonlight

You hear her timid, breaking voice,

Her soothing hums that call upon sleep,

The feeble prayers whispered to the ceiling

O Starry Night, hide her from the harsh light...