breathe ⇒ poetry

oblivious.

when you're little

you don't really pay much attention

to the scars on peoples arms

the way their mood slightly shifts

when you're talking about something they're insecure about

you don't sense that deep down someone is hurting

you don't see the change in their mood

so i'm sorry to the girl i used to be friends with

the one who tried to act happy

but deep down was hurting

i never suspected anything

because you're so oblivious to things like this when you're only little

i noticed how sometimes you wouldn't play along with my jokes like you always did

and you seemed to smile sadly

listening to me yabber on

about nothing at all important.

but i never suspected anything.

i remember the time you told me you were sad

and when i asked why

you couldn't answer.

i sang a song for you,

to cheer you up,

but you smiled sadly and stared into space.

i asked if the song cheered you up,

and you replied "a little bit"

when clearly in your eyes

i could tell it didn't cheer you up at all.

i remember all those times you came to school

new bruises on your skin each day

i never really noticed them

or really payed attention

but now I look back on the photos

i can tell what used to happen

the only time I ever noticed the bruises

was when you came to school one day

and started rubbing your leg

i noticed the huge bruise and asked

"what happened to your leg?"

you looked a little surprised

it was the first time i ever said anything about it

"oh, i just tripped."

was your answer,

as you looked in the opposite direction,

tears prickling at your eyes.

i remember you used to feel sick often at school

you'd have a sore stomach

or a bad headache

or something wrong with you

you even vomited once

because you didn't want to go home

i never understood why

until now, i've grown up and learnt a lot

i look back on the days

and see how depressed you really were

how i could've helped,

how i should've helped

but i never did

because i was too oblivious

and too young too understand.