What made her choose the way of shadows?

As a little girl,
she was all smiles and sunshine,
playing sweetly,
barefoot on the lawn.

Now you see her
seldom if ever,
she's a black & white memory
and the sunshine's long gone.

What made her leave the way of light?

In school she seemed happy--
at least, that's what you thought,
mentioning friends during dinner,
then disappearing
for giggled conversations
on the phone.

Now she seems so lonely,
but she wants to be alone,
or with others just like her
she chats with online,
holed up in her home.

When did her life become so gloomy?

You started noticing it in high school,
the way she began to turn away
from the love and family
that you offered,
as though she was haunted,
or perhaps overwhelmed,
by what--she would not say.

She stopped seeking you
for conversation
because she said you didn't understand,
and you didn't,
but you wanted to so very badly,
see her flower face follow the day.

And now the child you knew
is gone from sight.
She hides her vulnerability
within a shroud that smells like death
because she knows that few would follow
her retreat across the cemetery
she already longs to lie in.

And within this dark fantasy
the pale child of daylight still plays,
snuggled deep
in comfortable imagination
which has now become
her protective demon
and, perhaps, in time,
her final resting place.

Love,
without understanding,
turns Goth.