Blonde, unruly waves, falling recklessly unto her petite frame
Dull mahogany eyes, stripped of life
Soft lips turned down
Like she doesn't quite remember how to smile
A summer tan spreads across her baby skin
Covering every inch of her tired body
White linens
Make her a lady
Strangling her true identity
Young face
Wise mind, old soul
Not amused by the childish games of summer
she has seen too much
Her childhood lost
Eyes opened
To the real world.
Inhaling ribbons of grey smoke
Letting it seep into her cells
Holding it in until her lungs scream louder than her mind
The burning red ash is the only color in her grey life
The embers float down the dirt road
Leaving a path of lost innocence
Every step she takes
Another piece of grey residue
Dropped
She watches the rolled paper
Shrink
Until it almost burns her fingertips.
She does this for a sense of control
Letting it shrivel up
Watching what will eventually **** her
Die in her hands
She stares endlessly at it
And drops it onto the gravel
Stomping it out with her white church shoes
Until the bottoms are black.
And she becomes one cigarette closer
To disappearing into the smoke she breathes.