a bar too high
family with high expectations
school that sees potential
future just up ahead

a bar open
friends with low thoughts
an expulsion from school
a future long gone

a bar reached
a love with strong foundation
a well earned degree
a future rebuilt

sakura, pink
lily, white
lemon, yellow
white curtains
red strawberries
from our garden
grass green,
loud fireworks,
but I'll sleep

sitting in a room staring at the pictures on the wall, full of joy,
smiles as bright as the very stars
paintings which were made in a bout of inspiration,
face of a boy blue,
waterfall of water crashing,
two trees in sunset and snow,
hill pink with clouds fluffy and pink too,
paintings that were praised for their skill, although there was none present
and hidden behind them a poem,
one full of hurt that challenges their brightness
the true work of the artist, the true bearer of emotion
key to understanding their heart
hidden away never to be found, never read, never critiqued or questioned
never to be understood

she looks up and sees clouds,
fluffy and white,
like the spots on her nails,
streaks of clouds like the marks on her legs and thighs,
water trickles like the silent tears on her rosy cheeks,
the bright color which gives her a youthful glow,
though she looks this way- her youth is far behind her,
she's stuck,
trying to make sense of her past,
while planning ahead
aligning her thoughts in a garden of both flowers and weeds,
she collects objects in the hopes of them distracting her from the truth,
she's a kid forced to grow up too fast in a world that can't hear her story,
who would want to hear her sob story?
she'll grow up to be another statistic,
but for now she'll silently tend to the garden of her thoughts