Ella

Anyone that joyful and energetic
Must be hiding something.
The laws of nature
Wouldn't allow that much joy
Without a balancing act of struggle.

Ella was the best actress I ever knew.
Her eyes always sparkled;
Her laugh seemed effortless.
She was always doing something
And never stopped to catch a breath.
She was always running from something
And couldn't stop to catch a breath.

Sometimes the monster caught up to her
And she had to go to battle.
Eventually, she learned that in fighting
She would always lose,
So she cared for it instead,
Thinking love would solve everything.

Some creatures can't be tamed.

When you run from the same monster for so long,
Running starts to get easier,
And even when the monster goes to sleep,
You forget that you don't have to keep running.

Other times, Ella saw a flicker of humanity
When she turned to face the monster.
Sympathetic eyes, or maybe begging eyes.
She couldn't tell the difference.
And in those moments, she let the monster catch up to her.
Besides, she needed to rest her feet.

At last, she ran far enough away where she could hide.
When she peered out from behind the bushes,
The flickers turned into moments, then days,
But she knew she had to watch from afar.