• That kid on the bench works too hard
    His days are spent in text
    Never seeing the world
    Only asking "what's next?"
    He has big dreams and bigger schemes to achieve them
    He can't conceive them as anything but true
    So what could be wrong with a little help?
    Not the kind he's offered from teachers
    They are obsolete and set in their ways
    No place for innovation
    This situation requires more than old men
    who just get in his way
    So under his tongue goes an Adderall
    A swig of Vitamin Water
    And suddenly those orange beads in the capsule sound like Pop Rocks
    They sound like drums
    A sound that numbs
    Pounding deep in his head
    More blood to the brain
    More energy. More words read
    Everything clicks like magic
    He feels so fantastic
    Synapses get quicker
    More abundant
    Clarity
    Finally
    His cigarette gets shorter
    and so does the next
    The words move faster
    His eyes move faster
    His hand vibrates as it skims over the page
    Until suddenly, everything stops
    No warning just...
    That kid on the bench hates herself
    Her days are spent hiding with ease
    never seeing the world
    with her head between her knees
    And her eyes downward
    Except for when she glances over her shoulder
    as if she's afraid someone is looking
    She did have dreams, but she forgot them
    Burned them out of her skin
    with that cigarette she clings to
    as if it's the only thing keeping her from falling
    As if it's the only thing keeping her father from calling
    to remind her of what a failure she is
    She seems alone, but she's the third of five kids
    and can never escape the noise of her house
    Unless she's here on the bench
    But still, there's so much static
    Too many voices
    The world never rests anymore
    So in go the headphones
    She immerses herself in rhythms and tones
    Something to drown out the words
    Anything to drown out her thought
    And as the beat kicks
    She looks around
    Sees people laughing
    Imagines the sound
    Over the music
    Her head starts to pound
    She pulls out her solution
    They all hit the ground
    But it's not meant for them
    So she gives a little grin
    and pushes the barrel just beneath her chin
    Wonders why songs always end where they begin
    Just like this one in her head
    It crescendos in waves and she rises to the top
    Until suddenly, everything stops
    No warning, just...
    That kid on the bench is beyond help
    Her days are spent completely alone
    Never seeing the world
    She's quiet and accident prone
    Covered in bandages from head to toe
    because the universe seems determined to make her fall
    So she just sits there and writes
    Fills her notebooks with dreams in ink form
    And ashes from the cigarette that keeps her warm
    but makes her cold all the same
    Her days are all the same
    Her nights are like the days
    Because she doesn't sleep
    She craves coffee and nicotine to keep herself awake
    and away from nightmares
    Wired to keep her dodging parents that don't care
    about throwing a punch or two
    Her eyes don't see you
    They see blurred copies of her demons
    Snickering insinuations of the reasons that she is who she is
    And who is she but another passenger?
    Terrified to see these opportunities passin her
    She once praised God for miscarriages
    Now she hates God for loveless marriages
    With her pen, she counts damages dealt
    by the people she once felt close to
    She sits on the bench reading The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
    She hates Jane Austen and Sylvia Plath too
    Her favorite bands are The Mountain Goats, Green Day, and the Who
    So, ya see, she's a normal person like me or you
    Every bit as ******** up as the other two
    But she's different
    Because she writes
    Channeling all the chaos of her living dreams
    into a thin, but powerful stream
    Until she feels better
    Until she gets up
    Until suddenly, everything stops.
    No warning, just....