Gazing dismally into her bright, twinkly irises,

The Devil itself, flickering, in their glittery fervor

Now, glancing aloofly back at me, devoid of even

A single, lone remnant of her effervescent past identity

Her trademark impish grin, that barred her excited self

Has bleached out to a Thin, weary line

She’s undeniably drained and listless, her soul

Beaten to a paper thin.

Her lifeline, her ticket to popularity,

The defiant, disobedient exterior,

That described her, so well

At present, fading away to dissolute yes-nods

I long to reach out and rekindle

The blazing flames that had been extinguished

When her pranks slid to an abrupt end;

When cruel, restraining chains fell upon her,

As she struggled against their merciless grip…

The cheeky devil, my ingenious friend,

A steadily gushing waterfall of mischief

Has been drowned, in the ocean of discipline

Just like how a tender green leaf, swimming in energy

And breathing in tireless spirit, slowly withers

Into a lifeless rustle of dull soiled brown

She has been stifled, her very essence quenched.

Now, as she raises her hand carelessly to make a stupid remark, I glimpse the uncertainty in her eyes.

She brings those wavering fingers rapidly down,

Frightened to be demeaned, yet again,

By firm, unyielding hands, ready to silence her. ©

-M