They were taught to scream

In hopes that someone would hear them.

 

She walks the tightrope

Miles above the faces that jeer

Stuck in an endless dance

To save her from the words that sear.

 

She loses her footing and plummets,

The monstrous men lured on by her cries,

And her dance does nothing more to protect her

As she watches when her innocence dies.

 

They were taught to scream

For help before they break beyond repair.

 

He painted a smile on his face

To hide the pain he felt inside.

The false jester jeered when the girl fell

And he stood back to curse his pride.

 

He painted his wrists red

And shouted to the world the things he lied.

His proud mask covered nothing

As he felt it when his confidence died.

 

They were taught to scream

Even knowing no one would come.

 

She twisted and turned herself

To fit who they wanted her to be.

She only wanted to be accepted

So she forced her true self to flee.

 

She contorted herself too far

And lost herself. Sallow and shy

She could no longer hide herself

And wept when she heard her dreams die

 

They were taught to scream

With voices growing hoarse.

 

We are the contortionists and the clowns

And we walk the tightrope

Together in solidarity when everything goes wrong

And it is hard to even hold onto hope.

 

You watch them lose everything

And to them it seems as if you don't care,

You're just another jeering face

In a world that is hard to bear.

 

They were taught to scream

Even when the urge to fades fast.

 

Their wish to be accepted

By a world as blind as ours was their only crime

The dream that others could learn to see

From the eyes of someone different in time.

 

We are the freaks and the outcasts

And we have grown used to you ignoring our screams

But it never hurts to wish and hope

Because no one wants to face the end of their dreams.

 

We were taught to scream

But maybe its better to whisper