An Ageless Tale by Susan

The crowd gathers around her, Fifteen feels like forty,fifty,a thousand, Who circle her, ensnare her chubby frame. There's no place to run as they push her from side to side Laughing with laughter sharpened by contempt, and hate,and spite. Her books scatter to the pavement of the empty schoolyard. Loose pages hiss in the late afternoon breeze as they scamper away. Tears of fear, of helpless rage, of shame course down her cheeks Raising more laughter. She feels so small as her head buzzes in panic: a trapped bird in a cage whose frantic heart hammers at its breast. The leader towers over her, smug with power and closes in, "Teach you to tell", of another day just the same but different... The voices echo down through history of another group of another nameless child all asking the same question, "Why? Why me?" The statistics are shocking. 91 percent of people living with mental illness have experienced some sort of trauma. Of that massive number 43 percent have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Bullying has a cost and not just the immediate price that's paid because like a corrupted savings account the initial deposits compound their interest over time.. I know, as kids,the future seems impossibly far away and Zero Tolerance is a good thing But when do we talk about compassion,respect? How do we instill the self respect and self esteem needed to help the bullies and their prey? Before it's too late and the life long damage is done. "Even A child is known by his deeds." Prov 20:11