No Matter What They Say

 

She was walking down the hallway,

Feeling pretty good,

Thinking things were going her way.

She started looking around her and

Stopped where she stood.

She began to realize,

Things were far from good.

  

She started hearing,

Voices whispering,

Saying no truths,

Only lies                     

Dozens of eyes peering out of their corners

As they spoke into each others ears

She wondered what was wrong

What had she done?

 

The faces haunted her imagination,

Clouded her thought

What were they talking about?

Was there something on her face? Her hair?

The buzzing in her head,

Only cleared by the ringing of the bell

Lunch.

 

Worse.

The voices continued,

As she weaved her way to an empty table.

Her friend ran over

Excited, full of news

“Did you do it? Is it true?”

 

That’s when she heard,

The venomous lines circulating

“I heard they are going out”

“I heard it’s more”

“I heard they did it”

“She’s just a flat out w***e”

 

What were they saying?

Why would they lie?

She’d never done anything,

Nothing even close.

he buzzing in her head,shamed

earehat it means to love
Theire end

Not knowing what’s worse

The circulating lie

Or the feeling that she would rather die

 

She ran home, stormed up the stairs

Shut the door, turned out the light

Grabbed a piece of paper,

Wrote quickly,

Before the impending night

 

Opened her bathroom door,

Ran the tub hot

Waited for it to fill,

Her head went under,

Trying to soak out the pain

The heat scolded her skin

As the humiliation reddened her face

The water filled her lungs,

As the words killed soul.

 

Why do those words keep coming back?

Why would they say?

Why can’t they just leave me alone?

 

Her parents came up

Wondering where she was

What did they find,

But her lifeless body

Limp in the water

Then they saw the note,

Scribbled furiously beside her

I love you, Always and forever

I’m a good girl, mom,

No matter what they tell you

I never did a thing.

 

She had laughed to keep from crying

Joked to hide her pain

All because of something,

That her friends said one day.

Some friends,

I’d say