My life had been a nightmare.

From the long nights of
waiting for sleep to wash over me
and take away the pain,
to gazing at the sun through
my tinted window.
The clouds would drift closer
and I’d be too far from shelter.

I washed away my mother’s tears
with a strained smile so fake
even a stranger would notice.
I gave up my carefree years
of playing with pretty dolls,
to tend to work I never
should have cared for.

But I almost woke up.

I got close enough for a glimpse
of a place I had never known.
I felt the warmth that radiated
from the sunlight shining
down at me in a grassy field,
and I laid awake only because
I had nothing more to dream for.

I could let my hair down
and dip my toes into the
gentle waves that passed by me,
instead of over me.
I heard the birds singing songs
that were so beautiful even I
couldn’t help but grin.
There I was free.

I am still asleep,
too tangled in the darkness,
lost in a whirlwind of
memories and secrets;
forgotten, abandoned.
Although I can’t seem to grasp it,
I have at last seen happiness.

And I plan to encounter it again.