The Bubble Gum Ice Cream Girl On the Beach

nobody on the beach today but a little girl walking in circles on the sand she skips her way to me and asks me what i am reading i tell her i am writing a poem she says 'oh, well can i hear it' i notice that her voice is froggy and i ask her if she has a cold she said no, she has a rare throat condition and that she just had her seventh surgery on it i ask her does it hurt to talk she smiles at me and says 'only when there is nothing to talk about' i laugh and read her what i had written she clapped and tells me it the few words were the highlight of her day i tell her meeting her was mine, and then suddenly she begins to cry she tells me she 'lives alone' and then says 'mommy is ashamed of me' i then ask her why and she says' 'mommy says the sound of my voice makes me ugly' i tell her she lights up my life she sits next to me and rests her head on my lap still crying lightly i then wipe away a few of her tears and ask her if she could have ice cream she nodded her head in anticipation and disbelief i ask her what her favorite ice cream flavor is and she exclaims 'BUBBLE GUM BLUE AND BUBBLE GUM PINK' we walk down the beach a ways and cross the access to ice cream place i tell to get as many scoops as you want and she tells the lady behind the counter 'four scoops in a cup please' i lean against the wall and say to myself 'how can you not love the radiant beauty of this little ray of sunshine' we end up spending the rest of the day together until i tell her that the sun was going down and that she needed to get home she asked if she could stay with me, and i hated to tell her no, but i do real life has safety nets unlikable to man, but necessary for survival i watch her wave sadly and walk away slowly with such depressing hesitation i almost shed a tear, but i know deep within me that i have to move on perhaps when i come back here at a later date i will see her smiling face again however right now, all i can do is pray for her, accept the life that God has created, and let Him decide and do the rest