Judge me.
Judge me for the times I’ve missed school,
Comforting a friend whose pregnancy test is positive.
Judge me for the times I’ve spent with friends after dark,
It is the only time we cannot see the marks left by our own blades.
Judge me for the times I’ve come home drunk,
Trying to forget the look in my friend’s eyes before he pulled the trigger.
Judge me for the times I’ve been high,
A drink spiked leading to night unremembered except for the turmoil.
Judge me for the kiss you saw,
The kiss stopping me from running from the life I fear more than death. Judge me for my lies,
Lies which protect those that hurt me because your judgment tells me I’m
not worth saving.
Now look me in the eye,
And judge me.