Once upon a time,

you and all of your kind

lived under the ridges and

grooves of my mind.

Careening the folds and

uploading your endlessly

flowing line of words that

seem to cut and obliterate

the flowers of my mind into

a massacre of compost.

You turned beauty into ugly

with every syllable of

every word, like acid –

you scarred my mind

and left rough behind.

And every night as the moon

read bedtime stories to the

sunlight you took it as an

invitation into my darkness.

Offering nooses and pills –

claiming it was the savior

I so desperately wanted and

so desperately needed.

Praising my suffering,

and poisoning my mind –

you grew an unweeded garden

upon my lobes.

So that when I looked in

a mirror you showed me

poison ivy and

prickles of roses

rather than the

blush of marigolds and

phantom kisses of lilac –

you and all of your kind

distorted my mind –

and now I lay here

waiting and waiting

in the darkness,

for you to appear.

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There are young girls and boys that dream of change, dreaming of a life full of crinkled eyes and laugh lines. Yet all they’re handed are nicknames and an endless stream of hate that seems to occupy every notification of every app. How are they supposed to walk into a school decorated with the icons of the people who called them “slut” or “popper” the night before? They have no choice but to shrug their shoulders and deflect their stares while wishing for the day to be over.

Bullying – Cyberbullying has ruined the lives of our generation, but no action has been taken to rectify the losses the victims have suffered because the perpetrators are cowards that hide behind the harsh blue glow of a manufactured screen. Social media conglomerates have created a world where bullies can hide behind a screen – “the all mighty and powerful” – while their victims can’t hide behind the walls of the next building over because there is no building across the way or some adult they can run to. Victims are alone because as technology advances the “responsible adults” you’re supposed to talk to don’t see the problems in the app designed to “erase” the evidence (I’m looking at you Snapchat).

When you bully someone behind a mask – to post your negativity for the world to see – you make the world a little grayer. Constructive criticism comes from a place of caring and isn’t done behind a mask.