A graceful sprite, so full of life
she danced her way into my heart
I never understood till now
that grief was tearing her apart.

Her father was an angry man
Her mother cried into the night.
And Elenor went wandering
inside her mind -and out of sight.

It took a while to realize
that little Elenor had gone
she took no purse and left no clue
as to the road she traveled on.

She made new friends quite easily
but they would never know,
that as the past came closing in
Elenor would have to go.

She came to me, as children do,
with laughter and expectancy
wondering what part I’d play
in her created fantasy.

I loved her laughter and her smile,
and would have kept her as my own
but just as quickly as she came
she slipped away, alone.

She left a note with scribbled hand
“I have to go”- was all it said.
Today the front page of the news
reports a missing girl found dead.

Her father has been taken in,
a suspect for the crime.
Her mother’s in the hospital.
They say she’s lost her mind.

If only I had questioned more,
this little girl who stole my heart.
I never understood till now
what grief was tearing her apart.