Sweet like soda pop,

Bubbly like champagne,

You make everyone around you laugh and smile.

The misty sky

That makes rainbows appear,

A kaleidoscope

Beautiful like gems in the sun,

Sharing the life and color in your eyes,

Brightening days like a lamp,

Or a glow stick,

Throwing light into every corner

And banishing the shadows.

But sometimes your light

Reaches everyone but you,

Leaving your own shadows lurking

Behind your shoulder,

Breathing down your neck.

Like the few flecks of dust

That cling after spring cleaning,

Your worry-filled slate

Is never entirely wiped clean.

The ghosts of letters peer through,

Problems pushed aside

But unresolved,

The not-talked-about elephant

Standing in the middle of your happy life.

When I see you

Like a child lost in a maze,

No friend or parent in sight,

I try to help,

Show you the way out of this mess you’ve

Gotten yourself into,

And you follow me,

Listening to my words

And understanding my meaning.

We find the exit,

The solution,

Resolve plain on your face,

But just as you go to take the final step,

You turn around,

Fleeing the opposite direction,

Back into confusion,

Fearing confrontation, implications,

And I realize I can’t always make it all better.