I'm sorry that your dress-up doll
no longer fits
the pretty dresses that you bought.

She tried. Honestly. She tried so hard
to pull the shawls a little tighter
and tug the belts another notch closer -
but no matter how she tried,
she could never be slight enough
for those inch-wide evening gowns made for mice.

And she couldn't supply the fire and spice
you demanded out of her every pose.
The energy was up in her mind - a strong mind,
but who cares for the thoughts of a rose?
The red of their petals are what matters,
and hers were faded.

So as you judged and graded and degraded,
you came to the final conclusion
that her thorns had grown too sharp.
Either she or they would have to go -
it was the only solution.

But she couldn't bear to part
with those darling thorns. So off she went,
and your dress-up doll crumpled up;
money, time and energy spent on - what?

Aspirations that could never be true
and a girl who was never enough for you.