you study her face and what makes you gasp is the way her bloodshot eyes still light up every time you mention her name
you'd think the purple bruises that lie under her lashes would cause her to grimace at any sort of attention
but the hope that's crusted beneath her fingernails continue to have a way of seeping through her pores and slipping into her heart
cracked and brittle
her bones can take twice the weight any body builder ever could imagine holding onto
you stare at the charcoal bruises that trace her knees
all from the fight she put up with in high school athletics
a minuscule way to spark the beam of gratification that shot from her parents smiles
you squint at her crooked teeth and laugh at the way her last baby tooth is whiter than all the others
her laugh makes your ears bleed and your head hurt because you've never heard anything more genuine or broken
each sound that comes out of her mouth is a way to push out her happiness and drown her depression