Chicken Soup For The Soul- Redone

The Leader

If only they knew how hard it is for me.

I'm turning 16, the world I begin to see.

My friends began to change, right before my eyes,

And now they seem to laugh, and tell all sorts of lies.

They hang around together in groups of three or four;

The language they use...it isn't gentle anymore.

The kids that seem most lonely wind up in their pack,

And those that stand alone, they talk behind their back.

Somehow I feel rejected because I don't conform.

Those that step to their own beat don't seem to be the norm.

I've watched a few just fade away, with drugs and alcohol;

And many more have given up, too many to recall.

Alcohol is an option for everyone in my school.

I've lost a friend to booze again; I will not be a fool.

And sex, it seems so open, for everyone to explore.

Three girls I know that came to school don't come here anymore.

If only I could make a difference, what could I do or say?

I would go to school and try my best each and every day.

There is one thing I'd like to do before I graduate.

I'd like to touch them one by one before it is too late.

-Tony Overman