To Whom It May Concern

Wed, 10/31/2018 - 11:28 -- DevoL

To whom this may concern,
You always taught me

In the place where there is no man,
You must stand up and be that man.
So now, I speak.
Children are innocent sheep, blank slates.
Souls as fragile as glass,
Which can shatter at the attack of a misplaced syllable.
But when you teach and preach intimidation, oppression, aggression,
Instead of affection, passion, compassion
You make timid and frightened shells of former potential,
Shoving square pegs into round holes.
We hear the sound of your heels clicking down the hallway
And scuttle into bathroom stalls.
As if we will be struck by lightning, or knifed in the chest by your criticisms,
We walk on eggshells.
Do you know what you do,
To the frail innocent who are placed in your care,
Where our grades matter more than our thoughts.
Where legitimate questions are shot down like birds during hunting season,
Cold, unfeeling, cruel.
Do you know what you do,
When we are taught better to lie than to get in trouble,
Better to ask forgiveness than permission.
Getting yelled at for crimes we didn’t know we committed.
Do you know what you do,
When you can’t be yourself,
Where you must be the image they imagine you to be,
The perfect student; buttoned collar, pulled back hair.
Making us abhor the word Charity, dirty the beauty of Modesty.


Why did it not clobber your rationalization,
When girls left the school, unable to withstand the tyranny any longer.
Do you know she currently lives with her abusive boyfriend?
Do you know another has tattoos, piercing, and shuts out the world?
Do you know she struggles daily with anorexia caused by bullying in YOUR school?
Do you know of her constant fight to remain sane and sober?
Do you know you could have prevented all this?
This pain, this anguish, this grief.
But it’s not too late,
Not yet anyway.
The survivors approximate 4 years of recovery,
From the 4 years of high school,
So I guess I’m halfway there.
Sincerely, A Burnt Out Private School Girl







 

This poem is about: 
Me
My community

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