The girl she now is.

What was once a smile is now hidden,
What was once laughter is now forbidden.
Holding the tears back behind that fake smile,
Holding the tears back, but only for a while.

Only a select few know the real little girl,
But even then they are worried when her head begins to twirl.
Her breath becomes quick and short,
And every time she goes to breathe, it gets caught.

People are her weakness and fear,
Thats why she walks around the school with a single tear.
Her head is a jumble of unsaid words,
But they are hardly ever heard.

She can never look a stranger in the eye,
But if she does she'll go home and cry.
She has so much strength that she gives it away,
Never keeping it for herself in case of that rainy day.

She has seen her friends suffer from their painful lives,
And she has seen them turn to knives.
It gives her pain to see them hurt,
Causeing her stress and to lie breathless in the dirt.

She used to laugh and wear a real smile,
And she'll be lucky if she hasn't had an anxiety attack in a while.
The only time you would see her cry was when she was laughing with joy,
But now she will cry because she feels like a broken toy.

~For my friend Ashleigh~