She trudged through class
A ghost of a kid
Often ignored
Stood back, she did

They say she’s not quite right
But they assume she’ll be okay
And so they overlook her
Day after day

But as she steps into the house
Raging emotions overflow her
Sometimes she just wants to curl up
And hide away from her father

Screaming, yelling
Shattering, noises
Crying, silence
Too many voices.

She hears them all
Waging a war,
Inside and out
Too hard to ignore

And she tries to sleep
But can only lie awake
Hoping and praying
Until daybreak

So as the sun rises
She’s in a hurry
She quickly grabs her stuff and,
Flies out the door in a flurry
At school, she rushes to her class
“How are you?” Her teacher would say
So the girl fakes a smile and responds
“I’m okay.