That incident in the hallway,

seemed a thing of the past,

I thought we were moving forward,

didn’t think their strength would last.

When we last spoke,

you smiled and said good-bye,

the same way you had

since we met in second grade.

~

High school coming to an end,

the next chapter,

so many lives,

so few recall the memories,

that others have endured.

Yet we go forward

with our day as we always have.

Perhaps a sandwich,

maybe I’ll go for a run,

the summer is ahead,

and college, my God,

this is where I am today.

~

I remember the very day,

they’d been waiting all morning,

he slipped by without notice,

figured today he’d be alright,

but it was after school,

when he walked out to his car,

they’d spray-painted his name,

inside a circle of rejection,

They’d all gone to the dance,

forgot about him that night,

figured he was at home,

doing whatever they hadn’t

any idea what he did,

what did he do,

they wondered now,

standing in formation,

the entire student body,

today’s speaker brought tears.

~

We cannot forget each other,

in the present or later on,

we might think that today

is easily forgotten,

but for some, it remains,

forever really.

That’s the fascination

that becomes our terror.

We must smile a real hello,

we have to become the strength,

to carry their bags,

when the weight becomes too much.

~

We have to keep speaking,

certainly continue asking.

We must believe,

we are all in this together,

then maybe,

another day,

they might,

want to understand.