A little girl with sparkling eyes
Dying of disease
Day by day she fakes a smile
Hoping it will please.

A little girl who knows too much
Yet too little all the same
Who's life will be cut short one day
And she won't ever have a say.

A little girl who knows the time
And day she is to die
Exactly how old she will be
And she can't ever lie.

A little girl who's hurting
Deep inside her bones
But she puts on a happy face
And continues to live on.

____

Terri-Gay