Photograph
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She spun the desk chair,
Felt dizzy, light and free
Like she could keep flying forever,
Swimming in a sea of endless stars.
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Her face was a portrait of happiness;
Her smile bright as the sun,
Her eyes like moonbeams.
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She found joy in life's simplest pleasures,
From licking a sweet lollipop
To trailing her fingers through a stream,
Laughing as she watched the fish
Glide through sparkling water.
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She basked in the sunshine,
Danced in the rain,
Caught leaves in the autumn
As they fell from the trees.
In winter, lay outside for hours
Making angels in the snow.
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She had a full and happy heart,
Compassionate towards everything,
Seeing the monkeys in the zoo and saying,
"Why are they locked up, mommy?
Why can't they go free?"
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She held dreams of fame and travel,
Dreamt of traveling to Africa,
Dreamt of wilderness;
The jungle, ripe bananas hanging from the trees.
Held those dreams fast to her heart
Like she would never let them go.
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"Someday I'll be famous
And I'll take you with me, mommy
To the stars."
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Her face, her eyes, her smile,
Permanently captured in a photograph.
A brilliant portrait of what once was,
What could have been ..
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Her eyes now glazed with tears,
Her face an ashen gray,
Her heart a mess of scattered pieces
That she sews together best she can,
To no avail.
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Her countless memories,
Now rushing together and
Blending in her mind.
She tries to push them away,
Tries to push away the fact
That now she is ..
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Herself a ghost,
Lying in the shadows,
Preferring to hide from her past,
Hide from her perfect face,
Her perfect happiness.
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She looks into the mirror now
And sees herself;
A shadow of what was,
A shadow of
What could,
What should,
Have been.
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