Her smile used to be contagious
She ignored how to display sadness
She had been taught not to disturb
Never to be a burden to others.
Through thick and thin she hence beamed
And all were ecstatic, sublimely enthusiastic
Her arrival greeted with joy as she lightened
The rooms she entered saluting everyone,
Regardless of appearances or status quos
All deserved a piece of her or so she thought,
The sweeper the usher the pauper, the bus driver
The sweaty waiter, the peasants the blue and white
Collars, the kings acquaintances and friends,
Hyenas in disguise, singing Hendrix foxy lady
Turned more than a regard, over melodies of Brown
She claimed she was feeling good and oh so well
Hid her desperate moves. It was January
But it was warm, rookie mistake she took
A pill too many listening to R.E.M loosing
Their religion and proved them right,
For everybody hurts and she was but
‘A hurt lost and blinded fool’
No morphine could have ever sufficed
To relieve the profound wounds,
Excruciating pain caused by the harshness,
Of the brutal reality she wanted to ignore.
[Featured painting: Boundlessness in bloom by Duy Huynh]