Girl Lost, Girl Found

The child sits so simply at the top of the slide,
her Barbie coat hugging her with pink innocence,
unafraid, untouched by the darkness
of the bright yellow tube before her.
She launches herself down, and as I lose her
within the play world, I see a meek child
at the top, red hair and blue eyes wild and wide.
She hangs on with trepidation,
more scared of the unknown
than the shouting voices
that kept her awake, the staggering form
that crept into her room, the night before.
In an eye blink, they emerge, first Fearless,
then Weak, and run with equal footfall
to their guardians of Indifference,
who carry them away to happy homes.