Safe Haven

"My room
is a mess!"
the girl laughed to herself,
spinning slowly in circles.

Her green eyes saw
the unmade bed,
the unfolded laundry,
the chaos.

Her small hands reached,
running fingertips over
the spines of old worn books,
smiling faces frozen in photos
and piles of pillows

Stuffed animals and porcelain dolls watch
sitting serene on bed and shelves,
silent witness to her dreams
and all of her fears.

If the purple walls could talk,
what stories they would tell:
tragedy, romance, and comedy
a young girls' biography.

The stereo plays her favourites:
a jumble of voices and styles.
Stories to tell,
already familiar background noise
to her fantasies.

One blue wall
calming, serene,
but covered in memories, photos
a jumbled sea of dreams.

A bulletin board
an island on a sea of blue,
holds wishes and inspiration,
memories and plans,
and an unloved school schedule.

Bookshelves whisper
stories of magic, tales of wonder
for a dreamer, lover of written words:
an entire new world to escape in.

An idea flickers to life,
lights of a new world shining in her eyes.
Staring blankly at a tree out the window,
she waits until she is sure, and then:

Her delicate mouth turned up in a smile,
she sinks onto the pink beanbag chair
and picks up her journal.

Pen in hand, she weaves
a beautiful cloth of words,
a new story.

A story born in her room,
a place where she is free.
A space to be herself,
a save haven for dreamers.