Think,
Before you yell
across the room to the girl
wearing clothes too big for her
and walking to a table alone.

Before you laugh
at the boy with the braces
who raises his hand to every
question. And deem him “Teachers pet.”

Before you shoot
nasty looks at the girl
in the black clothes, standing
against the wall, writing what
you’re sure is some kind of
“Emo-freak poem.”

Before you tease
the boy who’s dressed
in worse clothes each day,
his looks seemingly declining.
You never know what they’re story is.

The girl, with the big clothes?
Maybe she has self-esteem issues.
She hides behind her sweaters
keeping the scars undisclosed in her sleeves,
and her true body image a secret.
You make fun of her,
when all she really needs
is someone to tell her, her true beauty.

The boy with the braces?
Maybe he doesn’t really have all the answers.
He raises his hand, in hopes that
with the answers he gives
someone, even the teacher,
will accept him.

He really needs a friend,
to love him for who he is.
The girl in black?
Maybe that notebook holds her problems,
between pages of tears and raging words
she can’t tell to anyone else.
She really needs someone to confide in,
to listen to the things she has to say,
and try to help her through
what may be the worst time of her life.

The boy with the old clothes?
Maybe he’s giving up on life.
Filled with overwhelming thoughts
of “Why even bother?”
Slowly bringing him to the end.
He really needs someone to
tell him that he’s worth it,
and that nothing would be the same
if he ended his life in a rash decision.

So think again,
before you choose these actions,
that seem so innocent.
You never know what that person’s
whole story is,
or if your own choice
could save someone from taking
away the valuable thing,
that is their life.