drawn curtains

she shouts her opinions from the rooftops
entrapping the sky as her captive audience
this is her world
and she will have it

she smashes her fist into cruelty,
unaffected
stomping out pain
with her steel toed boots

her voice is loud
she will never not be heard
but in her own mind
the silence is suffocating

life's a stage and she's a star performer
act like nothing's wrong
paint on a smile they'll see from the nosebleeds
don't let them see you sweat

they say eyes are the windows to the soul
but she has her curtains drawn
her mind is an abandoned playground
her cheeks hollow in the moonlight
but as long as her make-up covers the bags beneath her eyes
she'll keep going
going

but if you take a moment to look inside
you'll see how their words stop her in tracks
and how at night everything
               
                       comes
                            crashing
                                     down

she is alone.

but you were too busy admiring the drapes