madaleine l'engle

charlotte she explodes with joy.
sparks of gold and diamonds fly
from the tips of her fingers and her dancing toes.
her laugh is like a crystal ball
and yet it has the earthy healthiness
of blades of sun-ripe wheat.
when she implodeswith sorrow
she takes within her all the gold,
the diamonds and the sunny laughter.
deep, deep within herself she goes
and hides the pain
protects it in her heart;
talks like an ordinary day
except the sun has gone
and the sky holds no blue.
who knows what thoughts she hides
from us and from herself?
she keeps her sorrow
and the scarsare underneath the flesh
unseen, enclosed within the shell.
the hidden grain of anguish
may one day turninto a pearl.