Seraphina

Seraphina

washed up on the shore

tangled, strawberry-blonde hair

what adventures has she been on?

what marvelous things has she seen?

what pain has she been through?

what terrible things has she seen?

had she been sailing on a pirate ship

laying among stolen jewels

had she been roughed up by the captain

who tossed her overboard

had she been a foreign princess

feasting upon gourmet meals

had she been unhappy with her life

and swam away overseas

had she been a majestic mermaid

swimming with the fish and clams

had she lost her tail

deciding to live her life on land

Seraphina

this magical girl

strawberry-blonde and fair

what adventures has she been on?

what marvelous things has she seen?

what pain has she been through?

what terrible things has she seen?

So I asked...

she had been a local girl

going to school and living with her father

she had lived in the countryside

riding horses and giving them hay

she had lost her mother

who was suffering a terrible disease

she had been left with her father

neglected and ignored

she had grown very sad

feeling hopeless and small

she had felt there was only one thing to do

ending it all

she had tossed herself into the ocean

tumbling in the crashing waves

she had regretted it

feeling it may have been too late

but here she is now

alive and well

salt in her hair

sand underneath her fingernails

we took her back to our home

gave her a bath and a meal

promised to be her friend

Seraphina, don't be scared.

Seraphina, we're your friends.