i called you at 4 am with mascara
tears and bloodied knuckles grasping
a quivering cell phone in the
rain; you drove three hours
in the middle of a storm to hold
me close and claimed you'd never
let me be alone again.

you
lied.

Don’t you find it odd, my dear,
what teens have come to fear?
They fear themselves, their own ways,
anxious at the thought of school every day.
So much pressure just to be
something the world wants to see.
Defined by the numbers on a scale
and acceptance letters in the mail.
Be as pristine as what is seen
on the glorified movie screen.
They focus less on self appreciation;
instead count calories and accept starvation
Talents are useless and don’t matter,
unless they help you climb the social ladder.
Quantity over quality when it comes to friends,
popularity defines you in the end.
They’d rather write their last note
and swallow too many pills down their throat
Climb up high and take their last stride
because from society they can’t hide.
Don’t you find it strange, my dear
that this problem is so near?
Even when teens have come this far,
they’d rather die than be who they are.
And yet no one’s reaching out
to tell kid’s what life is really about.

I used to think in blue and red,
Right or wrong, alive or dead.
Purple was just not there
Because you either did or didn't care.

But when you fall in love you see
The other colours, pink and green.
Then there's yellow, orange too
The world's a thousand different hues.