Ode to ignorance

By Ally Benson

She arrived with a heart full of hope

Her small, fragile hand in her fathers

The pitter patter of her tiny white shoes

Echoing throughout the wide, looming hall.

Her hair was tied in a small blue bow

And her eyes were wide with wonder.

There was a slight skip in her step,

Laced with excitement,

Utterly and ignorantly absent of anxiety.

A light backpack

Weighed heavy on her little shoulders

But she was not bothered.

Her heart skipped with the rhythm of her feet

And her miniscule little body

Radiated with elation.

She wondered

Lightheartedly

How the other children

Would greet her.

Would they love

The ruffles

In her small blue dress?

She was eager

To be surrounded

By her own kind.

In her mind

There was not a single thought

Of grief

Only the idea

That each person

Was filled with the radiance

Of a shining sun

And carried the same kindness

That had been with her

Through the entirety of her life.

She had never touched a shadow

Or shed a tear

And only light

Had ever fallen on her face.

She shone

With the innocence

And love that she was born with.

She was a child.

Unaware that the compassion

She had to give

Would be beaten out of her;

Not even dimly conscious

That she was walking

Into the building that would kill her.

She persisted

Without the slightest clue

That her small feet

Would never grow to their full potential

And her story

Would be so brief.

No no,

She kept walking forward,

Smiling,

Her tiny feet kept moving

Through the hall

Her heart still full,

Her spirit still high,

She continued,

Her small,

Quiet white shoes

Unknowingly

Bringing her to death.