Ageless Dangling

-
Her lips have sucked
away the innocence
of her childhood.
Her face is scarred
in ruts of ruin.
And yet too young
she is to buoy
the waves of pain.
She’s blown out hope
in clouds of smoke;
too old to have ever
tasted joy.

She is ageless
in her dangling
between a rock
and a hard place;
angrily angling
for a life
that has long
drifted
to the horizon.