They Say

by Joyce CC, from US

We say,"kids die because of alcohol"
I'm falling
is this my parent's car all smashed up?
how come I can't remember...
what is this by my head?
asphalt and beer?
Is that a woman crying?
What are those red lights?
I can't see the woman anymore
everything is red
throbbing, stop the noise!
I didn't do it
whatever got me here
this isn't happening
NO!
the sidewalk is moving now
I need to remember who she is
we were together
I remember I can never leave her
who is she?
I remember
it's coming to me
yes! she's...
too late
They say "Shhhhhh, you're too young"
We say, "wars are everywhere"
Dad! no this can't be happening
Daddy come back
you promised you'd always protect me
Dad, talk to me dad
I know you can
DADDY!
you promised
YOU PROMISED!
The man with the gun is coming toward me now
I WON"T LEAVE YOU!
too late
They say, "Shhhhh, where did you here that?"
We say, "kids kill kids"
I look into his eyes and he looks into mine
the alley grows dim in comparison
we simultaneously pull out the guns
we both knew we had
Kara runs up behind me
she was only trying to protect me she
was only trying to keep me from going to jail
she was acting out of love
she didn't mean to
she pulled my arms behind my back
"don't shoot, don't kill him"
she is sobbing now
in advance,
the bullet hits me in the chest
never fight with cowards
the last thing i see is Kara over me
her tears fall onto my face
he runs
They say, "Shhhhh, your little brother will hear you"
We say, "kids
take drugs
smoke go to jail
kill
commit suicide
wars tear countries apart
people lie
cheat
steal
are sexist
racist pollute their only home
famine starves
volcanoes erupt
planes crash
boats sink
too late
They say, "Shhhhh"
We say, "it's called Reality"
they say, "you don't have to be so vulgar"
we say "the only other way to say it is that people can still"...
laugh
smile
sing
play
love
and say
Earth is wonderful