MORE THAN BEING SHY

She kept her eyes down, or looked away
She couldn't look you in the eye
The slightest movement made her flinch
You knew it was more than being shy
She hid behind her hair, in silence
You couldn't really see her face
She carried a terrible burden, a secret
That she kept hidden, with her disgrace
She didn't dare speak or say a word
Unless she was spoken to
You knew she wasn't just being polite
She learned her place, after all she'd gone through
She took the blame upon herself
And internalized the hate
She punished herself for what happened
She carried and shouldered the weight
Her family wouldn't​ listen 
Nobody did a dam thing
She thought; It must be me
I must be the reason this keeps happening
She pulled herself up and kept going
She willed herself, to go on
But you knew, behind that smile
Her pain was far from gone
She refused to stay the victim
Rising up, out of the ashes of defeat
What couldn't destroy her, made her stronger
She stood and shook the dust  off her feet