The Gauntlet

 

She heard the calls come from far away
Like a ray of dark in her bright day.
Another harsh taunt to twist and tear,
Hurled fast at her back without a care.

 

Another day in this wretched school,
Surrounded by the faddish and cool.
Alone again with her thoughts and fears,
Her face wet with invisible tears.

 

No friends around to comfort or ease
The silent pain of her memories
Of the words that slice the wounds unhealed
On a heart that no armor could shield.

 

Jeers launched again from the laughing crowd;
She walks quickly past them with head bowed.
Her shoes dragging along the cold ground,
She runs away from the painful sound.

 

Another night alone in her room,
Sitting silently in the dark gloom.
The tears, once unseen, fell down her face,
An untold story time can't erase.

 

Another day within those hard walls,
Listening to the cruel gibes and calls.
The echoes of the voices haunting
Her numb mind with their endless taunting.

 

The girl and I know each other well,
Through thick and thin, through heaven and hell.
If only I could just make them see
That the lonely, sad-eyed girl... is me.