Rumor

Her mother used to tell her

Not to hurt or judge anybody

You see

She was taught to be nice to everybody

But one day she met this somebody

Years later brushed him off as nobody

She always wanted to make her name and gain fame

But not in this way

Now, he wanted the world to revolve around him

So the light in his eyes were no longer dim

Not because of cigarettes and drugs

But with the poisoned words he let slip off his tongue

And that made the flames roar as he fulfilled this long term desire

To dominate, so, he spit fire

Domination gained by words that sting and burn

Things she never knew about herself she later came to learn

Phrase by phrase the rumors spread through

Like wildfire as the flames grew

She felt the heat from a distance as the sneers and jeers came her way

About that, she had nothing to say

And till this day

The thought of that little girl not standing up

That person stopped living

You made her consider the pesticides and weedicides

Blades for suicide

She was an insomniac

She stayed awake each night

But not in her bed

She stayed awake each night

Fighting battles in her head

Because lots of things in her defense was left unsaid

The latch on the metal door held back

A sea of lables ready to attack

Her sanity

And they say, she had OCD

You see

She had to make sure the door was locked

Kept sleepless by the loud knocks

That made her check the latch over and over and over again

Afraid to let in those old friends that drove her insane

And just to be sure, she'd check the door over and over and over again

The labels held her ever so tightly like it was the first time

Packaging herself to be victimized

Lies upon lies, through the blinds, she heard

That she was deranged and disorganized

Feeding her irrelevant remarks

See, you need to learn the difference between 'being' and 'having'

Because people are not depressed, they suffer from depression

People are not failures, they have made mistakes that lead them to a downfall

But sometimes I know it's hard for you to not think before you speak

And there is a difference you see

When you began judging by size;

She didn't think her time on earth was worth

Letting a metal clock and rubber plate define her self worth

As each calorie filled a sinkhole of depression

Caused by the unconcerned lash of a tongue

That later said she had bad taste, making her insecure of her place

She really didn't know that you took your time to go about licking the choices that she made

And it was over time she realized that everything you said was not what she was

She was too disorganized, over-emotional, desperate or overweight

She was a person

And she had feelings too

Expressing these thoughts in the way that the little me was afraid to do.

Author's Note

I just used 'me' for dramatic effect. I hope one day I could have this international anti-bullying foundation of my own :)

Reviews

[Willard Wells]

Very nice piece on bullying. I felt that you could work it down a little and reduce some words. Now as a great person at critiques (yah right) I should tell you what change I would suggest. Unfortunately at this given time, my brain is not giving me that data. The flow was good and the message was spot on, but I feel a bit of proofing and thinning of words would benefit the piece.

But the final decision and view of the piece is in your eyes only and if you are happy, so am it.

[Pamela Gold]

I think this could be broken out into separate poems. It seems like there are two stories in here trying to get out. It has deep meaning. Are you holding back somewhat?

I have a pet peeve about poetry. Either rhyme or don't, not both in the same.

[jesserose99]

This is a really good poem...she was just pushed too far and it made her live a life of fear, and that is terrible. Really glad you sent this my way to read...a powerful poem...lengthy but worth the time to read.

[Joshua McNay]

Whether you used"me" for effect or not it was a wonderful poem and I really enjoyed the message here. Thanks for sharing