She wraps herself up in a blanket
and tucks herself in at night.
So alone in the world,
as the cold creeps around her,
and anxiety possesses her body.

She's watched her sister poison her body
with candy from the gutters.
She's watched her mother paint her own wrists
with a knife.
She feels helpless and at times hopeless,
aching for a positive change and a chance to be free.

She sees the world beautifully
and that light burns inside and flickers in her eyes,
yet the pain she sees around her takes her hostage,
and drags her around like a puppet on a string,
and like other weary souls she slips through the cracks
of secondhand pain.