I see a little boy
Getting teased
Screaming in anger
With tears pouring down his face
Called to the front
And punished for his only defense
Face drawn
Resignated silence
Without the strength
To hold his head high
Is this the way we treat our victims
As criminals of the first degree
How sick is this
That we punish them
For lashing out
Which is their only protection
One that they practice unwillingly
Why can’t we cushion their blows

I see a little girl
Bright red-orange hair
Freckled face
And lonely eyes
She wanders the neighborhood
Looking for new girls
Friends who won’t shun her
Longing for a mother
Who would dry her painful tears
She wonders how the girls could be so mean
Their stones
Of mocking laughter
Talk and play
In which she isn’t invited to join
Cutting her with deadly accuracy
Why can’t we
Invite her to join
Show her the love
She so desperately craves
Instead of leaving her
To wander the streets defenseless
As our cool jaded eyes
Judge her unworthy
Just in case
We ourselves
Become the pariahs
How do we do this
Hypocrites to our dying breath
With holding the help
That could heal her bitter wounds
Instead
She lives on alone
Becoming consumed in desperation
When she gives in
We cry that we didn’t know
LIES
We condemned her by our silence
Blissfully ignored her tears
We have blood on our hands
We were the best defense of the innocent
And we failed
We let her fade