Slipping Away Poem by Jana Rininger

With clenched fists and teeth in turn
slamming down onto table top
her head drops low to the cool woodgrain
she prays for it all to go away, just stop.

Cries for help go unheard
muffled in the rush from day to day
no matter how hard she tries,
everything dear to her seems to slip away

She's played out this game a million times
waiting for someone to make her real
assailed by pressure from all sides
by people who yell, scratch, bite, steal.

What was once a happy child
now wakes a ghost inside a shell
she just needs someone to talk to
and save her from this personal hell

She wonders how long it will be
until this life finally makes her break
she looks out through hollowed out eyes
and sees a world that only takes.

No one ever seems to notice
That behind a smile lays a broken girl
Fractured by life's cruel twists
and a merciless world that continues to twirl.