Distanced Voices

You see her every day
She's the same in every way
She sits down to listen
To lyrics that make her glisten

Inside she glitters with tears, although
She only lets a smile show
Her heart is burdened with a defeat
That pulls and drags at her feet

You know all about her story
You've even seen her fall from glory
And as she imagines what might be
You're gossiping about shows on TV

She shifts quietly in her solitude
Letting a bruise show through
And though she quickly covers the violet mar,
There's another irritated scar

You look straight into her eyes
She seems to be about to cry
"I need help," yet she composes herself
She seems to shove it away on a shelf

A shelf for all of her feelings
A stowaway for her mindless stealings
A shelf for everything too hard to face
Without a kind, supporting brace

The very next day, you read of her death
Beaten by her father to her very last breath
Yet she managed to sigh, "I love you,"
After all the things he had led her to

You yell and throw the news on the ground
You're filled with guilt at what you'd found
You could've helped, if only a bit
But you acted too high and mighty for it

She only has one voice left on this earth
The one bearing her name and her date of birth
You cry as you are joined by others like you
Pretending they never even had a clue

And her distant voice fades- and you can't forget
The one look that froze you and the girl from whom you got it