The Search

You should have seen the way she combed through those books
Or the way her expression changed when she read a poem
You should have seen the way her eyes sparkled when she came across a new word
This girl was looking for something
She searched in fairytales- tales about princesses and their knights
She searched in fantasy books- tales about dark days and bright nights
She searched in science fiction- tales about aliens and their might
In the thousand words or so that she read
This girl drew closer to her treasure
You should have seen the way she curled up in bed
With a book as her pillow, and torn pages as her covers
You should have seen the way she stirred in her sleep
As if haunted by nightmares from all the stories she had read
You should have seen the way she got up every morning
Determined to keep on looking
For maybe she would find her laughter hidden away in page 300
And maybe she would find her conscience tucked neatly under page 163
Maybe her memories were waiting to jump out as soon as she opened chapter 9
And maybe, without her knowledge
The stitches that would mend her life were forming in chapter 12
Maybe her world would meet its happy ending
Maybe she would finally find what she had lost years ago
Maybe this girl would finally find herself.