She is a Shadow

She stays hidden in shadows

Her voice is hushed by whispers

Creeping along the edges in story after story after story

Always forgotten

Always ignored

Always waiting for

Someone

Or somehow

Or something

To occur

And she watches it all from the margins

Erased from stories

Hidden by the bigger

And the bolder

And the smarter

Or the older

Too afraid to enter their world

Too afraid to be alone in her own

Quiet in suffering

But weak under pressure

Nothing can hold her or rest on her shoulders

She is the one who will listen and hear

But she cannot tell or offer you help

She is simply

Purely

Only a shadow

And she cannot die

But she does not live