Author: musical

Another day over, wish it never happened,

Been this way for a while now, sick and tired of it all now,

Haven’t yet reached teens, four Christmases, still, before sweet 16,

Barely out the starting blocks, or so it would seem,

Should have had hopes and dreams like all others still precocious and keen,

But the ride been bumpy for too long, just want to get the hell off, reassurances go unheard, drowned out by the strange and absurd,

And so it happened, another one left the building,

Nothing short of tragic, bet they never saw it coming.

Never a good day when another commits to that permanent solution,

Doubly so when victims are mere children, too early in the day to be kicking buckets,

Hard for one to judge, no clue what they’d been through,

Some may see the proverbial light while demons got others in a vice,

In this case, reminded once again of the destructive nature of others,

No pain like friends turned into enemies, dangerous creatures they can be, for they know you most intimately,

Taunting, hazing, deliberate malicious contact, spreading rumors on campus and online, nowhere to hide when they attack,

Teachers won’t do shit, parents can only do so much, feeling lost and confused, unseen and unheard, anxiety takes over, why go on further?

That final act got ‘em scrambling and panicking, regurgitating excuses,

Never meant no harm, just having fun, if they’d known they would have stopped,

But is it harmless fun, bringing another down? Getting high at another’s expense? Scarring ‘em and shoving ‘em beyond that proverbial edge?

Then there’s fake friends just along for the ride, jumping ship to the other side, taunting, hitting and spreading lies, such betrayal an insidious crime,

Now they’ve done an about-face, overwhelmed by guilt, too late to show remorse, ‘sorry’ is an empty word,

Speaking of her now in reverent tones, only after she’s long gone,

Could have told her this before, their dark hearts have been exposed,

Are you still having fun? Are you all happy now?

You got your kicks while she paid for it, were the cheap thrills even worth it?

To the departed, fly high in the sky,

Free as a bird now, too pure for this life,

The pain may remain unhealed, but your loved ones will carry on,

They’ll ensure that your essence shines on,

Eternal torment to the perps and culprits, death’s no laughing matter now, isn’t it?

Save your tears, crocs are better actors, can’t turn back the clock, suck it up and live with it,

Good luck washing away the guilt and shame clinging to you like a great big stink,

Nowhere to hide once put under the spotlight, collectively y’all took an innocent life.

It was the best of times, those first ten trips ‘round the sun,

They say perfection’s non-existent but this sure was a close one,

Yours was charmed to say the least, you’d surely won the lottery,

Spared from life’s miseries, all was fine and dandy, mostly,

Roof overhead, food on the table, clothes on your back, you had all that,

Playtime, gaming and cartoons outside of school, had you a chest full of toys, felt luckier than other boys, you were that dude,

Books by the ton, messing about with your homies, trips to Wonderland, interstate then overseas, Disneyland during early teens,

Those prime years, eighth, ninth and tenth, the definition of carefree, keeping your room clean and your grades pristine seemed your only responsibilities,

Thank God Mom and Pops cared, went out their way to raise you good and proper,

As a lad you wouldn’t have known but it wasn’t easy keeping the foundations strong,

Now that you’re full grown you learn the truth all along, the good life born out of love from your grown folks,

They say one only wants what’s best for their little ones, give ‘em what they never had coming up,

Yours kept you out of Struggle Street, from all forms of trouble and corruption, moved you to a land of opportunities, to a life idyllic and hassle-free,

Though they played around with ya, when they weren’t keeping you in line, surely life’s stresses were never far, dawdling in the backs of their minds,

They, too, shared the good times, looking back, also, with a shared fondness,

But while you got the lion’s share, they enjoyed only half or less,

Couldn’t have asked for better, really, you gotta hand it to ‘em,

Should the day come that you don their boots, hopefully, you’ll do your best, too,

So you best keep ‘em in your prayers, walk with ‘em during their sunset, surely their sacrifices were worth it,

You’d been blessed many times over, Boy, gotta pay it forward.

Another victory, another conquest, they’re calling you the best of the best,

Feeling untouchable, invincible, no one’s knocking you off of your pedestal,

Pushed yourself day by day, paid your dues and kept your peers at bay,

Surveying your kingdom, sitting pretty atop the exceptional and gifted,

Better bask in your glory now, it’s all temporary,

Nothing lasts forever, you acquire losses, eventually,

The standouts aren’t immune, sooner or later your hallmarks to greatness wither away and fade,

No ifs or buts about it, Father Time gives but also takes,

Then there’s your competition, you fended off the majority, now here comes the next wave, passing the bar you’d set previously,

You push and you push, trying to stay ahead like before,

For a while you hold your own, before they shift into another gear, leaving you in the dust, just as you’d feared,

You’d already reached your ceiling, it’s built solid, for you unpassable,

They’re leaping over it, no shame in it, there’s always someone better,

Doesn’t diminish from your legacy, without it there are no standards to be passed,

You set the bar, earned their respect, sit back and relax,

But here’s another fact, the torch must be passed,

No one holds onto it forever, only ‘til another comes along,

Look to the mirror, that’s your competition, forget about the others,

In the end it’s you against you, their admiration are merely byproducts,

Go as far as you can, do your best for yourself,

No such thing as better than the rest, who wants that type of pressure on themselves?

Lift ain’t no race, certainly not one based on comparisons,

Leave that to the birds while you build your own kingdom.

Down to the last few weeks, tenth grade drawing to a close,

Not quite the end of the road, still a couple of years before the final boss,

Nevertheless, junior high’s ending, formal just around the corner, final exams beckoning, prior to graduation,

PE Class on a head-start, a test of life-saving skills at the local pool,

Two days of drills, everyone had a go, an afternoon pool party was the reward,

For teachers and students alike, for a brief period they were equals, some splashed about, others baking under the sun,

In the midst of it all, Brett and his camera did the rounds,

Taking a few snaps, Lord knows what for, yearbooks done and dusted by now, but only the committee know anyhow,

Asked some to smile and pose, quite liberal with the candids,

God help ya if you’re acting out, guaranteed he’ll capture that shit,

Finally met his quota for the day, Brett puts his toy away to hang with his mates,

They stood by the pool, a decision Brett would come to rue,

Maxie Wilkins splits from his tribe, they were camped near a fence

He’s heading for the facilities, had to use the gent’s,

Upon exiting he trudges back towards his homies, but from the corner of his eye catches an opportunity for mischief,

Spots Brett by the pool, chopping with his boys, with a glint in his eye charges at ‘em like a runaway horse,

Beelines for the target, shoves him into the drink,

He was quick as lightning, the victim barely had time to think,

Embarrassed but unbowed, fuelled by vengeance and rage,

Brett springs from out the water, sprints towards his attacker, that fool gotta pay,

Takes a spill along the way, skins his leg but barely noticed it, nor the laughter from his fellow pupils,

Took Maxie unawares, talk about returning the favour, on the grass they tussle, limbs flying in all directions,

Quick as a flash they’re the centre of attention, the jock against the geek,

“Fight! Fight! Fight!” they’re screaming, like the audience from some talk show on TV,

The brawl is on before the teacher’s intervention, demanded an explanation, Brett fired up without hesitation,

“He pushed me in the pool in all me clothes!” said he, resisting the urge to curse,

“It was just a joke,” retorted the other, “didn’t mean to hurt him!”

Teacher wasn’t buying it, heretofore combatants ordered simply to keep their distance, their last taste of leniency before exams come knocking,

Off Maxie goes to rejoin his crew, laughs and high fives all around, while Brett finds his boys, soaked but strangely proud,

Blood ran freely down his leg, his uniform’s a mess, yet he gallantly fought back, had to be proud of that.

Benny never was the flyest kid on the block,

Never the king of the kids, grades all over the shop,

‘Nerd,’ ‘geek’, ‘dweeb’, he’d heard ‘em all, branded every title suggesting weirdness and withdrawal,

Teacher was a decent sort, though that patience sometimes ran short,

Turned into a banshee rather quickly when her tribe be yapping like parrots atop a tree,

Now and then handed gifts to they who pulled their weight,

Worked hard and played fair, kind to all and made the grade,

Benny never cared, his sole objective was to survive,

So you could imagine his surprise, one time, he was announced the winner of the prize,

Felt great to be on top, to the victor goes the spoils,

The underdog crowned the king, his peers his loyal subjects, gotta do as he pleased,

But the moment was short-lived, reality an unwanted intruder,

The home bell sounds and they’re onto him like vultures,

Sore losers and intimidators joining forces demanding and threatening that he hand it over, even though he’d won it no problem,

Voices from all directions got him feeling trapped and frustrated,

Fuck the lot of them, fuck being the winner, turned out to be a curse than a blessing,

Off he marches to teacher, relinquishes the crown,

‘I don’t deserve this,’ says he, she needn’t question him any further,

Takes it back, dismissed the class, can’t condone actions nothing short of crass,

Much to their dismay, moaning and groaning all around,

Just desserts served, bullying can never be rewarded, they denied him of his moment, now they’re paying for it,

And so Benny slinks away, head bowed, thank God it’s a Friday,

It was a bitter blow but the weekend awaits, he lives to fight another day.