Ballad of the Sad Matryoshka

She had a little universe
She had to hide away.
She needed to keep it secret,
But there was nowhere safe.

She took her little universe
And hid it in her dress,
But stars peeked out from all her seams,
Winking an SOS.

She wrapped her little universe
Tightly in a towel
And stuffed it in her dress again,
But it began to howl.

She took it out and rewrapped it
In plastic, and she swallowed it,
But the world got stuck in her throat,
And her voice grew weirdly thick.

Now thanks to one small universe,
Matryoshka barely talks,
And when she tries, her eyes shine,

And there’s a slight howl in her thoughts,
And you may notice that her hands
Clutch at her throat when she walks.