Broken China Doll

She is a breakable glass doll
perched on the edge of the  shelf
Her view of life is jaded by eyes
that have seen more then too much
It is only a matter of time until
she collapses from the pressure
building up inside her tiny self

His rough touch has done too much
damage to her body and her soul
His words burned through her ears
and his stare has the power to melt
away all her strength and resolve

She promises me she'll tell her mom
she promises me she''ll tell a teacher
she promises me she'll make him stop
But she doesn't have the power left
inside of her to do any of those things

She says she loves her dad despite
all that he has done to violate her
She says she can't stand to expose him
for the child abuser that he really is

I tell her that I need to tell for her
that if she doesn't have the strength
to break free then I will  be her voice
through her cries of protest I rub her back
and reassure that everything will be okay
even though the truth is that I don't know
if her fragile psyche is too far gone to be saved