Broken Innocence

The first time I ever saw your face was the first time I ever saw beautiful. Your pink rosy cheeks were so soft and tender, like an ivory chiffon quilt made by great-grandma’s frail hands. I knew not what demons would ascend and create a life too sad for such a sweet little girl to want to bear. Thirteen came and you were still more adoring than any other girl your age. But you never did see your beauty, did you? Sorrow encompassed your smile. If I could erase the ugly you feel inside; maybe, just maybe I could see the beauty that shined the day you were born- once again. See, you still have those same rosy cheeks- and those same big doe chestnut eyes God gave you knowing how perfect they’d be… (if only just for me). So, I sit on one side of the couch, you on the other, and we do our thing with occasional laughs and funny sayings we made up. The sparkle in your eyes when we are together gives me comfort that soon you will shine with the constellations of confidence and healing. "Will this anguish cease before she becomes so torn she turns to negativity for reliance?" My prayers are heavy and my worry runs deep. Just then… you grab one side of the blanket, and I the other; two young lovely ladies doing nothing but believing in each other with... warmth and light. “For you are my beginning, and you are my end. My sweetness, completeness, my best friend. I feel your sorrow when you cry as if it was me, I want to heal you with my arms to make you see I have a secret that it seems like no one else knows- you’re perfect the way you are, my sweet Ella Rose." For my girl is shamed by BROKEN INNOCENCE. *There’s just not enough education on how to deal with a child who suffers from mental illness. It’s heartbreaking and worrisome. I pray for the youthful demons children face. I pray other parents their children help if needed. The bond between my daughter and I is unbreakable. I cried as I wrote this.* Date judged: May 10, 2019 MAY 2019 PREMIER 3,ANY FORM,ANY THEME,UPTO A MAX OF 8 (E I G H T )Lines Date written: May 9, 2019 For the contest, Writing Challenge 4, May 2019, No Placement Poetry Contest Sponsor, Dear Heart