thatsutherland

Do you know what isolation does to a child?
Have you seen it in live action,
or simply in frame by frame pictures?
For thirteen years in a grade no more than 110
Her friends slowly dipped away
Nine
Eight
Seven

For a child isolation is basically prison
They thrive off the attention --
even if it is no more than a quick glance
or a bright smile from a stranger
feeling herself slowly smile back
Six
Five
Four

As she grows older she will think
what is it that I did
to make those friends turn away.
What did this child do dear God
to make her smile fade?
Three
Two
One

Now the forced smiles are a front
waiting for the time
when these forced curves are once again
as real as the tears she sheds
alone at night left to her thoughts.
Zero
Nada
Null