I knew a girl
With tangled blonde hair
That she grew long
And set free in the ocean air.
She wore overalls and climbed
The toughest trees.
She talked to squirrels and always had bruises
On her knees.

I knew a girl
Who had it all figured out.
What she liked, where she was going,
What to speak her mind about.
She wasn't concerned
About who she pleased
Or who she rubbed the wrong way
She always felt free.

I knew a girl
Who was always looking around
At how everybody dressed and spoke.
She wanted to be the crowd.
She rented the thoughts
Inside her own head,
And she shackled her hair
Because of what her friends said.

I knew a girl
Who just wasn't sure
So she followed the blind
Because they seemed like they were.
On a cold Sunday night,
In a book she'd get lost,
But that wasn't cool
So she never let on.

Now there's a girl
Who runs all over the streets.
She struggles up hills, dodges cars,
Squints through driving sleet.
She clings to her pen
So when people open their mouths
She's not washed away and drowned
By the words that spew out.

Now there's a girl
Who can't control her hair.
She lets it zigzag like lightening,
And she just doesn't care.
This girl is going places
I'd be willing to bet.
But I can't say for sure
Because I don't know her.
Yet.