Trying

She lays in bed, trying to sleep.
But she can't.
No one can feel how hard this is.
A love she's given up, but won't go away,
A sadness deeper than she can even realize,
A life she's expected to plan out,
A world she wants to have the chance to explore.
It's all out there & she has no way of reaching it.
At least, not the way she sees it.
She's trying.
Not as well as she'd like to, but she is.
But no one tells her it's okay.
Instead they take advantage of her.
So she lays in bed, trying to sleep.
But she can't.
She is naked, everything she has can be taken from her.
Every attempt she makes at freedom, she is shot down,
Every moment of joy, is met with a day of despair,
Every step forward, she is forced back three,
Every assertion, crushed by the word, "Cannot".
There is strength inside her, but no one is there to encourage her.
At least not those who hold the most esteem in her life.
They try.
In all the wrong ways, but they try.
But they only make things worse.
Instead it forces her further into her isolation.
So she lays in bed, trying not to sleep.
But she must.
She is sheltered there, away from the forceful words & stress.
When the rest of her world is sleeping, she is awake.
When she is sleeping, the rest of her world is awake.
When the rest of her world is working, she is dreaming.
When she is working, the rest of her world is dreaming.
How can she go on this way?
No one knows, but she will.
Until the day when her burden is lighter,
Until the day her love for him hurts less,
Until the day she awakes from her slumber,
She will stay in isolation,
Waiting for her pain to change into strength.
She is trying.