Bare branches
Outstretch
In a cold embrace
Within her heart,
And the child within lurks behind
The forest of flaking trunks.
Real life is a mystery,
Death is a mockery,
Yet fantasy is so clear.

Her castles wade in sunlight,
Imagination takes the reigns
And the little one inside squeals with pleasure;
For how can one feel pain
When entrapped in a perfect realm?

Outside is merely illusion
Created to trick the mind.
What once were beckoning flowers
Now close from him as she sways behind
Lush trees and vines.
For the mind is lush,
You see,
Lush with paradise unfit for reality,
And she cages herself
Without knowing she is
A prisoner.