I Didn't Want to Die

I Didn’t Want to Die

I didn’t want to die.

There are monsters in this world.

No lie.

Demons with youthful faces

and trendy haircuts.

Abbreviated bodies

that look just like us.

Reason for aggression?

A lopsided walk?

A facial expression?

Battlezone school-

Stalked,

Ridiculed,

and abused.

Acrid emotional distress.

Social outcast, depressed.

Transferred hysterical, stress – impetuous.

Screaming!

Crying out!

Crying!

Sobbing.

Nobody listens.

Try to fit in. Make a few friends,

but none of the popular crowd

Persecuted by the entitled and proud.

Too happy? Smile too much?

Not wearing the right clothes?

Get a life NERD!

You GEEK!

You FREAK!

MIGHT AS WELL DIE!

Adult indifference, no place to run, no face to hide.

Confrontation,

Escalation,

 Premeditation,

Aggression to decimation.

Videotape goes viral.

Everyone in denial.

Unfortunate ending

to a more common case.

Brain grossly hemorrhaged,

copiously, into subarachnoid space.

One teen dead,

the headlines read.

Sucker-punched at school,

causing his brain to bleed.

Snuffed potential – unrealized dreams,

My name is Diego and I was just 13.

                                                                                                    John Wallis 2019