February 14 Poetic Asides Quatern

She Stood Alone 

She stood alone and faced the crowd.
The dam of tears about to break.
Smiling sadly and shaking hands
of friends from all stages of life.

She highlighted his finer points.
She stood alone and faced the crowd.
To her—the words just a caption
of a complicated novel.

Flashes of feelings, memories,
good and bad times passed through her mind.
She stood alone and faced the crowd.
She wondered how she would go on.

She felt guilty knowing she could.
Grief wrestled with thoughts of freedom,
of hope and joyful days ahead.
She stood alone and faced the crowd.