Paper Doll

• Lucinda Walravens, Grade 10
• Poetry
• 2009

There is a paper doll called Amstell,
Living in a pocket with the forgotten paperclips
And colourful bracelets.
She sits all day long, waiting for
The ever present Darkness to cease.
She waits, hopes, prays.
Looking upwards into the nothingness.

Until one day, a spot appears.
A tiny spot of light, blinding her gloomy eyes.
She squints towards it,
Curiosity coming to the surface.
She tries to stand,
It has been so long since she has moved.
She starts with a finger,
Then her hand.
She flops her arm around loosely,
Then works her legs.
Slowly, gently, she starts to stand.
Her feather light weight heavy on her legs.
She has to get used to it,
Before she can escape.

Escape she must, this dull life she holds.
Full of nothing, the emptiness holding her tight.
She wants to see light,
She dreams of the sun,
The ever going blueness
Of the sky,
She dreams of a red balloon,
Floating her away,
Going with the currents of the sky.

She dreams of smiling at the birds
As they pass on their way,
Of travelling to exotic places,
Away from here.

Stand she does, reaching for the edge,
Pokes her head over, shields her eyes.
And there she finds the red balloon,
Waiting for her all along.