she who became me;

and i kneel here
arms wrapped around the body
of a trembling little girl
a rain of tears wetting little cheeks

i can look into her eyes
and see the troubles that plague her
feel the emotions coursing through her
knowing every heartache and misery
experiences that no human being
should have ever been subject to

so much rolled up into one
a pandoras box
packaged prettily inside her soul
just waiting for release

i see the day her parents fought bitterly
when a trusted person touched her inappropriately
the realization of what death meant
and the shadowing thoughts of rejection

i hug the little girl more tightly
absorbing her into myself
every one of her memories
finding itself in my own
i vow to protect her
from the world's harshest reality
because it was she who became me.