When they scream at you, don’t scream back.
When they’re fighting, stay out of it.
Turn on your favorite song.
Close your eyes.
Escape.
When the short boy on the bus
makes a homophobic comment,
bite your tongue.
When they scream at you, don’t scream back.
When your mom says something
that makes your dad go crazy,
do not tell her what she said
was out of line.
Walk away and forget that they're fighting.
When your sister,
who’s merely two years younger,
tells you to kill yourself,
don’t draw red lines on your arm with a razor.
If your ex-bestfriend starts a rumor
about you, don’t deny it.
Don’t say anything to anybody.
Talk to her and try to refrain from calling her
a bitch.
When they scream at you, don’t scream back.
On the nights where
your bedroom walls are closing in
and you feel like you can’t breathe,
don’t take it out on yourself.
Read your favorite poem
over and over again
until your eyes start to droop.
When your parents don’t listen to you
about how you can’t fall asleep
and how you simply want it all to end,
tell someone who cares.
Tell someone who listens.
When the teacher isn’t doing their job,
don’t tell them how to do it.
When your dad puts a hole in your door,
crashing into your bedroom in the
wee hours of the night,
yelling at the top of his lungs.
Stay silent.
When he shoves you in front of your mom
who doesn’t do a thing,
stay silent.
When vile words escape his
toxic tongue and you can smell
the alcohol on his breath,
take a step back.
Don’t let him hit you again.
When they scream at you, don’t scream back.
आप पढ़ रहे हैं
Everything's Dark.
कविताA collection of poems written through personal experiences with the devil.
