Dressed in rich satin dresses,
They were trimmed with dainty lace;
She knew nothing of the common,
The struggle of the human race.

Each day she was awakened,
Bathed�dressed and fed by others;
Those who�s task it was to care,
Pamper and to smother.

She had a Father�he was away,
And, she saw him so seldom;
It didn�t matter�she didn�t mind,
She pretended that he was there.

A Mom�yes, she had one,
Well, don�t we all have?
She primped and she was social,
But, for Alice�she didn�t care.

So, Alice lived life in a dream,
One�where everything was just so;
Her Dad and her Mom,
Oh, they loved her�you know!

Surely they did�the best had she,
And, none of life�s cares;
Still�there are times when,
She wished that they were there.

Prim and proper�she was raised,
A lady�she would be;
The little girl was covered-over,
The little girl�nobody could see.

A child out of sight,
A child out of mind;
The years�they dragged by,
And, one day�Alice�they couldn�t find.

A young woman stood tall�poised,
But, her heart was cold as stone;
Perfect�without a flaw,
With no feelings�she had grown.

A rare and shining jewel�inside,
But, it�s beauty no one saw;
There was too much �hurt� out there,
From life�she did withdraw.

Alice�she had no friends,
Quite alone was she;
Her life was superficial,
The �outside� was all we could see.

Poised�and quite cultured,
She was well-trained;
Who would ever know that she was gone,
And, only the hull remained?

Shut-up�in an ivy-covered palace,
Protected from the real world;
Had only made her fearful,
From the world�she recoiled.

With child-like beauty on the �inside�,
A marble statue was all we saw;
She dare not show the true �self�,
No, from the real �self��withdraw.

Was Alice destined to forever be,
A prisoner�shut-up �inside�,
Never to step out into the real world,
To shine forth�to be set free?

One day�it happ�ed upon her,
Something that would forever change;
Our Alice was about to come forth,
Her whole life�re-arrange.

She was walking in the garden,
It was enclosed �round about with a tall hedge;
When she happened to see a young child,
Who had wandered inside the hedge.

Her first thought was to banish,
This young child had to flee;
Alice wanted nobody in her garden,
How dare this child come upon her property?

But, as she stopped and saw her,
Watched the child at play;
The �child� within Alice,
Wanted to join her that day!

Oh, wonder of all wonders,
Something deep �inside� began to stir;
The outer-veneer was cracking,
What was happening�she wasn�t quite sure.

A butterfly fluttered past,
On a large red rose it landed;
The child stood in awe,
And then, reached out�her hand extended.

A shout of glee reverberated,
Out�across the landscape;
And, much to everyone�s surprise,
From Alice�the shout of glee�escaped!

This was a turning point in her life,
The cold marble statue fell away;
The �child within� was set free,
And, free�she remains today!

The moral of the story,
Comes now�and it is clear;
Let the �child� be seen�always,
Throw away that veneer!

********

August 16, 2003

Aimee Love
(LHG)