Her Lost Children Poem by Helen Gaudin

Inside she floated
In a nothingness
Disconnected
Outside, she went on.

Inside she curled up crying
Wounded by casual cruelty
Words inflicting pain
Outside, she went on.

Inside she took the slap
Against her sense of self
Struggling to remain real
Outside, she went on.

Inside she huddled
Cradling pain from disregard
Trying to hold onto her value
Outside, she went on.

Inside she looked
At all her lost children
She opened her arms
Gathered them in her embrace.

Inside she stood tall
Recognizing self
Within and without
As one and the same.