To every adolescent error

You’ll be told to say hello to everyone
look them in the eye,
Smiling at a small community - earn your place.

But please don’t tell them everything,
just in case.

There’ll come a time,
When the whispers will make you cry,
When gossip will flow through the grapevine,
And of course you’ll lie.

Clinging to approval of family and friends,
you’ll scramble to save face.
Your moment will no longer be yours,
As its truth you’ll deny.
And with each lost moment,
you’ll become acutely self-aware,
Doubting your identity,
The one being crippled by community.

Although they’ll eventually forget, for longer
you’ll carry some shame.
Perhaps in years to come,
Of these little blackmails,
You’ll still care.

And it will be you,
Who needs to forgive,
the small place from which you came.

Caitlin Leishman