Instead,
she's as still
as a leaf-littered pond,
dark water evaporating,
waiting desperately for rain.

So much of control is not authoritative action but mindful waiting.

Waiting for you is like waiting for rain in this drought. Useless and disappointing." ~ Sam (Hilary Duff), A Cinderella Story

Then she smiles, like it's
the first time she's seen sun
after a decade of winters.

They scribble on notepads,
the sound of their pens
scratching the judgemental air.

Stella scribbled
in thick black texta
across half the pages
of my best storybook,
filled with people who ventured
where their hearts took them.
Beautiful worlds beyond mine.