"Oh, nothing's wrong," she smiled
and said grinning from ear to ear.
The frown that just was on her face
seemed to disappear.

But deep down where secrets are kept
the pain began to swell.
All the hurt inside of her
just seemed to stay and dwell.
All the pain in her heart
was too much for her to take.
Pretending everything's OK
is much to hard to fake.

She'd duck into the bathrooms
and hide inside the stalls
because no one could see her tears
behind those dirty walls.
She was sick and tired of losing
and things never turning out right.
She had no hope left in her.
She was ready to give up the fight.

She wiped away the tear drops,
put a smile back on her face,
pulled herself together and
walked out of that place.

Life went on and things got better.
She thought that was a start.
But still no one could see inside
her silent hurting heart.

~ Dayna Erickson