The shards' shallow silhouette
Dance across the faded white walls
Lighting up the small, cold room in
Swirling, blinding colors.

She thinks how brilliant they look,
So serene and alone against the blank canvas
As scattered piles of shattered pieces
Lay forgotten on the battered floor.

She stands outside the broken window
Looking through its dented, rusty pane.
Her fragile hands grasp the edge
As she tries to catch the jumping light.

Sultry warmth crawls down her fingertips
As glass pierces her translucent skin
And she's faced with the contrast of red on white.

She thinks of how beautiful it looked
From behind the window pane
And wonders how such loveliness
Could cause such pain.

But as she turns from the tainted room
And sees the harsh and jagged lines of the glass,
She realizes she wasn't seeing what was there.
She was caught in shadows.