An existence of a woman
Was never to be found
Not in its true form
She was not treated to peace
For too many
A woman
Any woman
to him
To them
Was merely
Merely
A show
A performance for others
A lipstick meant to be worn
And kissed away

When she immersed herself in the dark
In the wicked
And the wild
When she embraced the ink of night
She learned to rise
To adventure
To love
And love again
And not be terrified of the shadows
That sleep
within

The six stages of life her parents engrained in her were:

Graduate high school
Go to college
Get a good job
Get a boyfriend
Get married
Then have kids

then she could be successful and fulfilled
In these achievements she could find happiness

But
To her
a life worth living
could be discovered
In something
Much smaller then that

In the warm sip of coffee while listening to the streaming flow of traffic outside her office window

The first face smooshing greeting of her lover after arriving home from a long day of work

The meal shared over her childhood dinning room table eating only a steak her mom could make

The careless laughter of her best friend as they talk about their weeks as they wandered in the mall pacing from store to store

The jolt of her puppy jumping up on the couch to snuggle her feet

The excitement of turning to the first page of the second book written by her new favorite author after waiting months for its arrival

Those
small
moments
Those were her memories
Those were her life

And when she was young
Tears
Trickling down her cheeks
Her grandmother would tell her
My dear darling
The world is not as serious as you think
Just take a blink
Feel the circus of the world
Surround you
Surround you with magic
And whirls of wonder

She was giddy
A sparkle laying behind her eye
When surrounded
by collections
Collections, crafted and created by her
A few Trinkets,
A handful of Treasures
And a steaming cup of tea

She drifted through
On the tides
Hoping for the one
To swim against the current
And drag her to shore

However, when she drowned
And entered his waters
She knew
A siren had answered her call

There lay a room
One within her mind
Filled with the necessary

The location of her thoughts
Her thought through thoughts
A good voice that lay on her shoulder
An outlook of the rational and wonderful
And importantly,
her ability to move gently
And
breathe thoroughly

All of which she had no access
For the room
was locked
And the key
lost