Defense of the Innocent

I see a little boy Getting teased Screaming in anger With tears pouring down his face Called to the front And punished for his only defense Face drawn Resignated silence Without the strength To hold his head high Is this the way we treat our victims As criminals of the first degree How sick is this That we punish them For lashing out Which is their only protection One that they practice unwillingly Why can’t we cushion their blows I see a little girl Bright red-orange hair Freckled face And lonely eyes She wanders the neighborhood Looking for new girls Friends who won’t shun her Longing for a mother Who would dry her painful tears She wonders how the girls could be so mean Their stones Of mocking laughter Talk and play In which she isn’t invited to join Cutting her with deadly accuracy Why can’t we Invite her to join Show her the love She so desperately craves Instead of leaving her To wander the streets defenseless As our cool jaded eyes Judge her unworthy Just in case We ourselves Become the pariahs How do we do this Hypocrites to our dying breath With holding the help That could heal her bitter wounds Instead She lives on alone Becoming consumed in desperation When she gives in We cry that we didn’t know LIES We condemned her by our silence Blissfully ignored her tears We have blood on our hands We were the best defense of the innocent And we failed We let her fade