Your Words, My Scars

Like a coward, you hide behind a computer screen
It gives you the courage to say things you know are mean
Things that you would never say if we were face-to-face
But now you post the words that you never can erase

You think, because you don't know me, that it will not hurt
You think that it's acceptable for you to treat me like dirt
Like a coward, you always hide behind freedom of speech
And you think that anonymity puts you out of reach

In this day and age, you need to have thick skin
But mine splits open easily and your hateful words seep in
They wrap around my heart and they try to stop the flow
I try to fight them off, but my recovery is slow

A single comment you spew forth is easy to ignore
But several hundred hateful posts can pierce me to the core
You don't need a gun or knife to bring me to my knees
Your words are more debilitating than any disease

I opened myself up and I let all my demons loose
But you don't like what I said, so you handed me a noose
And you said the world would be a better place without me
Your words cut into my skin, from these scars watch me bleed

Watch me bleed, bleed forever
All your hateful words will never
Fail to reach the stars
And time can't heal my scars

Words can do as much damage as any stick or stone
Words can have more dire consequences than a broken bone
Respectful words are infrequent, but hateful words are rife
And those hateful words can lead one to take one's own life

In my dreams, the hateful cowards never do exist
And bandages are never used to cover up my wrists
Every time I see and wish upon a falling star
I wish for a better life, without your words, without my scars