It (#Wattys2016)

mind the line

You, my sir, do not understand emotions,

For what you enjoy I may dub commotions.

Your booming laughter may equal the state

Of my angered face twisted in hate.

You pull off the jokes at a rapid pace,

Each second much closer to my comfort space,

And when you nearly do cross that thin line,

You don't take a moment to know I'm not fine.

Sure, good sir, of course it's okay

To have a difference, to not be the same.

But when you dub my look of confusion

As something you find to be quite amusing

I have to say

"STOP."

Since when was provoking considered a past time?

To wound people's egos then soak them in lime?

To hear them scream in anger and fury?

Ruin their days by making them dreary?

To bid farewell to their self-esteem?

Isn't that a little extreme?

To turn people's lives inside and out?

Let them know their essence is doubt?

It's no wonder that one in every four

Of students here can't swim back to shore

And instead choose to drown in their own depression

Fall victim to their own stress and tension.

You could've stopped it, chose to be nice.

See them as people and not as head lice.

To crack light-hearted jokes occasionally is fine,

But please, good sir, do mind that line.

We're paper people with paper hearts,

Potentially able to be ripped apart.

Though some are stronger, we all have a spirit

That can only withstand a certain limit.

So, next time, dear sir, please don't be mean,

We only ask you that stay in between,

Respect and tolerance, maintain the peace.

Because God knows it's hard enough to just breathe.