‘Band aids don’t fix bullet holes’ by Iris Foster, age 14

Words cause the cuts

Words make them bleed

 

Wounds left open

Never resolved

Scars cut deep

But no one sees

 

Hidden emotions

Bottled up

Leave them too long

And they will all come up

 

A joke or a name

Could mean nothing

To you.

But for someone else

It could mean everything

To them.

 

Simple words

Could change someone’s life

Sometimes for good

Sometimes for worse

 

An apology is never enough

It has already hurt them

And hurt you too

 

Actions speak louder than words

This makes no sense

I think we all underestimate

The power of words

And how much

They say.