In her long sleeves
Stories reside
Threadbare lies
Stitched to disguise
The summer sun
Her quite foe
Yet shadows grant
Her room to grow

A schoolyard laugh
The tilt of eye
She sculps her mask
A grand reprise
Among her peers
Her smile gleams
But inside hums
Fractured themes

Mirror gazes
Crack the spell
Her sleeves' betrayal
Whispers well
Scarlet secrets
Line her arms
Echos of battles
Unseen alarms

The cutting edge
Her fleeting friend
A solace found
A means to mend
When the worlds weight
Swells her chest
The blade delivers
Hallow rest

A knock at the door
Her guard ignites
"Come in" she sings
And find the lights
Her mother's eyes
Scan the room
The girls' performance
Beats the gloom

Yet, one stray glance
A cuff askew
Reveals the truth
She thought she knew
The walls collapse
Her silence breaks
A voice whispers
For her own sake:

"You are more than
Wounds can chart
Let's start again,
To heal your heart."