It's okay darling,

         you've just got an old soul.

That maturity

      in those eyes

enclosed in dark circles,

just means you're wise.

 

That's what depression will do 

to you.

       But hush!

       We don't say that word.

 

If you have to spell it out,

use this one 

instead.

 

      P O E T R Y.

 

The spell to break this curse,

among the others

that invade

and terrorize

that childish mind,

erasing that

childhood someone 

once said you deserved.

     

    P O E T R Y.

 

Hidden behind the bookshelves,

tucked away in the pages,

of that 99 cent notebook,

imprisoned in teen diaries,

written in blue ink on 

pale palms.

 

      P O E T R Y.

 

The one thing 

that can inhale life

into those 

lifeless eyes.