Kitty smiled today.
She never did before;
or if she did she never let us see.
It was beautiful,
like her summer sky eyes,
like her auburn hair,
like her soft voice
whispering songs under her breath.
Like everything about her.

Kitty smiled today.
The smile was in the picture
tucked inside the note.
It was beautiful, but sad
like the shadows under the eyes
that I swore were full of hope,
like the bangs she always hid behind
when I thought she was crying,
like the voice that could would have brought world peace
if someone other than I would listen.

Kitty smiled today.
Though they Photoshopped out
the tears and desperation
so none of us would see.
It was beautiful, but sad
like the songs she used to sing,
like the stories she used to write,
like the poems she read at the park
when she thought no-one paid attention
at midnight from the swings.

Kitty smiled today.
Though the newspaper didn't
know the whole story
because we never asked her before.
It was sad
like the look in her eyes
when she stepped off the bus,
like the letter she wrote
on her last day of school,
like the tears that smudged
the words in the note
that no-one could stop her from writing.

Kitty smiled today.
And the popular girls who called her names
all cried and said they would miss their best friend,
and the teachers who told her she'd never succeed
said they wished she had spoken to them,
and her mother walked up to the grave and screamed
"Why wouldn't she tell me"
while I sat and I watched
holding the locket she gave me
two days before when I told her
I loved her.

~March 3, 2013~
~ShatteredScribe~