This is really a follow up to “Queen of Air and Darkness“. The process went something along the lines of, “Well, I’ve mangled one of Nikki’s favorite songs, but that wasn’t even close to what she was wishing for, and you KNOW you can do better…” So I let the wheels turn a bit more, and this came along.
Schoolgirl Smile
For Nikki
Now when the curtain rises and the lights are burning bright,
She’s afraid of less than nothing; she’s a goddess in in plain sight.
But when the show is over and the limelights have burned low,
Hiding there beneath her lashes is the girl I used to know.
She’s fierce and sometimes frightening, as she struts on down the aisle;
There are brains as well as beauty lighting up that killer smile.
But when she lets her guard down (it happens, now and then)
You just might meet the little girl she never was, back when.
She writes of death and darkness, of a world that’s far from sane,
And she seems so far above it, untouched by doubt or pain;
But if you watch her closely, you will see that all the while
Lurking just beneath the surface is a timid schoolgirl smile.
Paul Haynie
6/13/2006