When "In Your Face" Isn't Close Enough

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Someone is sitting at the edge of the bridge, 

She's looking at the waves, I guess. 

There were a few big stains on her pants, 

But she was beautiful nonetheless. 

I remember her calm and peaceful aura, 

It was as if she could leave all the stress behind. 

I was envious of her and I didn't know why, 

Maybe it was because she looked so unconfined. 

For weeks I walked the bridge every day, 

And she was always silently sitting there. 

I noticed a piece of paper stuck on her back, 

The bold characters said "ride me and pull my hair." 

Who knew people still did such a childish thing, 

But it didn't look like she knew about the stupid joke. 

I wanted to pull it of her back or talk to her, 

But I just walked my way and never spoke. 

Then she disappeared for a couple of days, 

And returned with a new note stuck on her T-shirt. 

This time it said "I'll jump", and nothing more, 

Even as a teenage joke, those words would hurt. 

But every day she sat there at the edge of the bridge, 

Wearing the same note on whatever she was wearing. 

Just like always, she had that calm feel around her, 

Somewhere along the way, I started caring. 

While I couldn't pull my eyes away from her, 

Other people went by without seeing her at all. 

Even if her written words were screaming loud, 

I think they didn't see her because she was so small  

"I'll jump," she said it day after day, after day, 

Yet everyone kept going on with their own life. 

I'm sure that if they wouldn't have been so blind, 

The girl sitting at the edge of the bridge would still be alive. 

That's right, she did what the note on her back said, 

One day, she wasn't there and I went to where she always sat. 

When I looked down, I saw the note floating in the water, 

And then she was gone forever, just like that. 

Even when faced with something, humans remain blind, 

The problem was almost in their face, yet they didn't see it. 

Even if you tell people you are going to kill yourself, 

They would be deaf, they wouldn't acknowledge you one bit. 

If I write "I'll slit my wrists" on my back tomorrow, 

I would walk around 10 years and nobody would move. 

But if you write "I'll steal your money" or "I'm gay", 

They would have you removed or at least disapprove. 

They only care about themselves, they always will, 

Unless you harm them in any way, you'll be like a ghost. 

They never think you're serious unless you take action, 

But those hurt people crying out, they suffer the most. 

Don't turn a blind eye on your surroundings, 

You might be surprised at what you could do. 

Could you live with yourself if you pretend not to see? 

Who knows when you could use a helping hand too. 

We should stop turning away from the obvious.

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