She sits alone,
At an abandoned lunch table.
The long empty table
Swallows her up
Chortling laughs and
Mumbling whispers
Fill the cafeteria.
Everyone is talking,
About her.
She’s stupid,
She’s ugly,
She’s fat,
She should leave,
Nobody wants her,
Nobody would care.
Although she hears them
She keeps her head up high
Shoulders back
Chest out
Showing she’s not inferior
“Words can’t hurt me”
She says proudly
To no one in particular.
Until that day
The day she couldn’t take it anymore
The day she gave in
The day she started believing
What was said about her
The day the whispering stopped.
Silence filled her ears
She can’t hear them now
Silence is bliss
And words can hurt.
