He made some choices
He shouldn’t have made
And he regret
Every cent he paid
That wasn’t his
In the first place
His friends kept grades
While he was outta the race
His teachers scolded
He didn’t care
He wasn’t in that school
He was in a Nightmare.
The Drug, the Addiction
Was all that he cared for
The lies he told
The deeds he did
All as a way to make life “fun
Even if just for a bit
It made him feel good
It made him feel great.
Then people took notice
And he went to jail
‘cause all he cared for,
Was what was on sale
He thought he had friends,
Then the fog in his foggy mind cleared
And through the pain he noticed:
He was all alone in those cold, metal dens.
And he promised he would make that mistake
Never Again.

She was 14
She wasn’t home
She was in Vegas
She was doing things
That her parents
Would be shocked to hear of
She worked for a man,
Didn’t know his name,
Wasn’t important to her.
Didn’t like her job,
But the money was compensation enough.
She had all that she wanted
Her Boss was nice
Then she got sick, very sick
And Her boss got mad
Suddenly he wasn’t nice
And She got kicked out.
It was cold out there
It was dirty out there
She didn’t have all she needed
And she was sick, very sick
She then knew what to do
She crawled on over
To a payphone
And used the last of her quarters
To call home
And cried when her parents
Came to pick her up.
And she said
She would do that
Never Again

He met with his “family”
On the corner of the street.
They weren’t his real relatives
They were his “bros”
The only family he knew
His real family was dumb, he said to himself.
His Ma worked three jobs just to pay the rent
And his pa just took that money
To pay for the alcohol he drank
They were dumb, he thought
His real “family” was here.
He dropped out of High School
He had no need for that
When he wanted something,
He and his real “family” would just take it
They were the terror of ‘hood
A few of his “bros” got arrested
What did it matter?
They would be out soon.
Then something happened
And another “family”
Challenged his
There was a big fight,
With guns and knives and fists
And his family was gone
All his “bros”
Were arrested or dead
And he was alone with his “dumb” family
Who didn’t care about what had happened
And he vowed a bloody vow
That once his remaining “bros” were released
He and they would make sure
That their “family” would disappear
Never Again

Meanwhile, I looked on
By watching the news
Looking around
And taking notice.
Screaming
Crying
Yelling
For it to just stop
Praying they would get
A smiling face
And written Hope.
And I wished
that would happen
Never Again