The years have passed,
flown by,
just like all the adults promised us.
The memories have distanced,
we forget to wonder why.
But your story never leaves us,
your story is the truth that lingers.
Your pain is the scream,
the scream that never lets us deafen our ears.
Before, we tried not to look.
We excused ourselves from the pain we caused.
But your death left us aware.
It left us with guilt on our hands.
It changed some of us,
opened our eyes.
It passed by the others.
But we knew we couldn't just watch anymore.
The tears in your sister's eyes told us that.
Your best friend's broken heart,
it reminds me every time I see him.
Even five years later.
Sometimes I wonder,
who you would be.
What your aspirations would have been,
if we would still be friends.
If maybe you would forgive us.
Your death,
my friend,
was the hardest thing my 8th grade self had faced.
Your death,
I wish I could have changed,
but I couldn't.
So today,
I have to learn.
I have to learn to look for you in everyone I see.
I can't close my eyes.
I can't deafen my ears to the silent screams that I know are around me.
If you listen,
they come in broken hearts,
empty eyes,
scars.
I want to look like Love to the broken.
I want to bring Jesus to the lost.
I will not forget you,
my friend.
So the question remains, How can we not forget? How can we not allow his death to be in vain? There are so many people walking around with the same pain my 8th grade friend was walking around with. Sometimes, you can't see it. Sometimes you can. So all we can do is look like Love. Look like Jesus, if just for a little. Don't ignore them because we don't know what to say. Don't walk away when you see bullying. Show them what love really means. Jesus came to bring life to the lost. We are all lost and dying until Jesus saves our life. Literally sweeps through and saves our life. Picks us up from the pits of Hell. We are chained, and he unlocks us. We are broken and he heals us. We were on the verge of dying. All spiritually, some physically. Some at the point of giving up. But Jesus can give them Life! For their dead hearts, for the people that want to give up. But they won't know his Love until we give it to them. They won't know we are different until we write Love on their arms. Until we look like Love.
