Wednesday 5 April 2023

A China Doll

by Nick Gisburne



I’m young, and yet, already, I’m a wife,
A malleable girl who met a man.
He swore that all the problems of my life
Would fade. They did, until the games began.
He promised to protect me. Life is tough.
The world we see is not a pretty place.
But what if I am made of stronger stuff?
No trace of that has flickered in his face.
A china doll, too delicate to break,
He puts me on a pedestal, alone.
I stare at nothing, not allowed to make
My thoughts, my fears, my disapproval, known.
    I’m not a toy, a treasure to possess.
    Is this the day I find my freedom? Yes.