“Chin up, put a smile on that face.”

Well I’m sorry that I don’t feel like smiling today.

“Just try to think more positively.”

Yes I will keep that in mind as I walk down the halls,

and see the glares and stares from my peers,

wondering things in my mind tumbling into this dark hole,

spiraling down to this place where their glares make me burn up inside.

But, yes I will keep that smile on my face and try to stay positive.

We are told not to wear a mask that it isn’t good for us,

and that we should show our true emotions,

yet the same people supply us with them.

Why do you contradict yourself so,

how do you not see the hypocrisy in the words that flow from your mouth

like venom.

“Laughter is the best medicine”

Yes Laughter fills us with joy,

but when you make me feel as if I have to force this fake laugh

my lungs want to collapse in on themselves,

and my chest feel heavy instead of light,

it is the same as if you took off-brand medication

when you needed the real thing.

Life would go so much smoother if people tried to make you smile

instead of forcing you to wear this one made of lies,

and the fake laughter that makes you feel as if you would rather die

than stay there with them.

Why can’t people see that if laughter is the best medicine,

and fake smiles make this pain worse

why are we continuing to stab people with this knife known as forced smiles,

and thinking that putting a band-ad of laughter on the knife will fix anything.

The solution is simple yet people make it so hard,

so many of us and trying, crying, to get better

yet you throw us masks that come with a free flask

and fake laughter that shoots from my mouth

yet I still feel the same after.

If you want to help do us all a solid, don’t give us a mask and some of that fake laughter.

Give us a shoulder to lean on,

the happiness you can bring me feels better than any nicotine I’ve been on,

tell us that it is okay to have bad days

that sad days won’t be the only days we will see in our lifetime.

Give us your hand and we can run a marathon,

yes we may start at a slow walk but with your help we will learn to run,

yet continuing to hand out these masks just leaves teens laying on the side

in the grass passed out with the flask that came with it.

Stop with the masks, because its sad to watch seemingly happy young people

pass away so soon when they should still be with us in this room.

But now slowly the memory of them will turn to ash

and they will fade away, in the ground,

with that mask.