I am not alone,

I can feel their hands clutching at my heart,

Listening to it like the ticking of a time bomb,

5, 4, 3, 2, 1 ,

I try to stand but I don’t know how,

Fear and panic,

push me down harder every time,

For they are whispering, watching,

always there,

Like shadows,

Please, please,

Hold your hands out,

Close your eyes,

let me feel you,

Your palm pressed into mine,

But please just please don’t,

Behind hands,

Or with your friends,

Just let me be,

Have empathy,

I am not a rock,

Rumors wear at me,

Stares penetrate my skin,

Like lasers,

Leaving scars to last a lifetime,

Forever in fear of them,

Be strong,

So it's said,

But how to in a world that only knows to judge and jest,

Rather than love and listen?