He Said He Wanted To Talk
He said he needed someone to talk to and proceeded to spin an intricate web of pain he'd been living in for a while
His words bled a life led in constant dread
His story told me how he couldn't be:
Complete, only a deadbeat in the back seat
Of a car he was supposed to be driving
Speeding towards some destination but never arriving
He needed to take control of the steering wheel
But didn't feel like he could deal
With the responsibility of his own happy
The life he was living had become so crappy
That there was no longer solace in the things he usually enjoyed
He could no longer hide in the innocence of his inner boy
He was lost, he had been trying to go back and find himself along the road
But the fee was expensive and he couldn't afford the cost
What now? He asked, me what now?
I had no answer. I barely even knew him
I'd noticed the darkness in his sad eyes and tried to lighten them with a smile
I'd noticed him sitting all alone in his self exile
But I didn't really know him
I could hear his desperate breaths on the other end of the line
As he waited for my words to cast him a lifeline
He expected from my lips valuable goldmines
To subtract his pain and add some hope like a therapist Einstein
I racked my brain for the words to to make his hurt go away
But the only suggestion I could find was for him to talk to someone more qualified in the irradication of pain
My heart beat kept time to his breathing as he gathered himself and tried again
His voice was softer this time as he screamed his desperation
His words were calm agitation
I could hear every tear rolling down his cheek
As his heart poured out from behind his teeth
The prevalent thing his words said
Was, "I can't any more, I want to be dead"
Even though he didn't say it fully,
This boy was being decimated by the onslaught of the bully
No one was born to be a human punching bag
Yet some one decided to change the description on the manufacturer's tag
When he was done,I asked him why he had called me and he said it was my smile
He said it was the only kindness he'd received in a while
There was none at school and definitely none at home
He was literally all alone
And now he's my friend
His call to me helped him avoid a bitter end
I had convinced him to hold on a bit longer
And daily he became a bit stronger
He reached out and I didn't turn him away
But there are many similar stories that don't end this way
Because of the unwillingness to answer the phone
The unwillingness to leave one's comfort zone
The unwillingness to stand up and help the victim
Doing nothing includes you in the conviction
It's actually pretty cool what a simple smile can do
It can save a life. Try it. I dare you.