Dancing With Death

Dancing With Death

I can see the surface cracking on the polished veneer
Of her pale winter skin, her face touched with fear

I can see stains on her cheeks that bear traces of tears
And the thinness of her wrists caused by starved-away years
As she holds herself hostage in the wall-mounted mirror
Brushing her dull brown hair thinner and thinner

Her clothes hang too loosely on her hollowed-out frame
She wears vacant expressions and keeps her cold eyes
floor-trained
She's afraid of her enemies, terrified of her friends
She's scared of the truth so she always pretends

Her fingertips trace another bruise on her face
She's tired of these constant chairs and doorframes
But she can't keep her feet on the slippery slope
It's easier to slide and quietly hope

I can see demons devouring her heart
I can see her seams and they're coming apart
She keeps swallowing lies as a flytrap does flies
She can't spit them out, however hard she tries

She's haunted by promises it won't happen again
But in the mirror I see the darkness of reflected pain
And the shadows in her eyes that dance with death.