Bystander No More

Bouts of laughter,

Gaggle of hecklers,

Strangled words chucked

Nonchalantly.

Victims left with no armour,

Naked to the outside world.

“I hate fat kids.”

“No one likes you.”

A young girl smirks

In satisfaction;

She is now a new bellwether,

A leader in the destruction of

Good morality.

Unwanted;

The word echoes

Behind the eyes

Of a slain individual,

Left to fend for himself.

A classification made by society

For those who are different,

For those who don’t fit the standard.

A word made to demean,

To terrorize into normality.

It is one’s duty to take a stance,

To speak up for the silenced.

A written email,

A firm voice,

A need for justice

Work together

In harmony

For a change.

With my actions

I stopped the brutality

Of words.

I stopped the incessant berating

Of ordinary students

Trying to get through life.

She does not get a pass

For her malicious comments

Because “she’s having a bad day.”

One can only take

So many bad days

Before the impact of words

Can cause irreversible damage.

Speak up

As a colleague

As a friend

As a human being.

Saying one thing

Can make all the difference

In one person’s life.