That's Not Really Her
She sits with her face buried in her hands
Overwhelmed by life’s demands
She never wanted to end up this way
Subdued, withdrawn, nothing to say
She doesn’t want to break her ties
But no one hears her helpless cries
Those who reach out touch only her wall
They don’t realize that’s not her at all
She lives in her own protective bubble
Safe from the outside, free from the trouble
Reality only invades by chance
When she declares the right circumstance
She’s in charge, she calls the shots
She writes the words, and conceives the plots
Don’t try to reach her, she won’t come out
Her heart is bitter and clouded with doubt
She lives and loves in her own creation
Apart from the stress and hopeless frustration
Living without conscience, existing without guilt
She prefers waiting behind the wall she has built
June 19, 2001
Copyright © 2001 Paula G. Cook
To be published winter 2002, Under a Quicksilver Moon, International Library of Poetry
Also to be featured in The Sound of Poetry triple CD set, International Library of Poetry