Criminal

By Manavi Chandra

It is truly an unfair situation when someone
bullies you and you don’t know how to defend yourself.

Writing this poem was uplifting for me because I was able to express that frustration out of being hurt and your teachers, friends, staff members, etc. defending the person who bullied you.

I hope this poem uplifts those who are survivors of bullying to validate their feelings and reactions. Survivors’ feelings often are not validated, which is compounded by excessive punishment instead of making the bullies accountable for their actions. The way one may react to bullying is not an excuse for the fingers to point the other way. Your
feelings and thoughts matter and I hope this poem encourages that.

Criminal

By Manavi Chandra
Crimes committed,
they don’t get punished.
As I bare the burden,
knee-deep in anguish.
Funny how I get in trouble
after people set me up.
Punish me for being myself.
Blame me for my reactions,
get scot-free for their actions.
Some expect me to not feel hurt.
They’re just having a “bad day.”
Don’t bother to offer a hug.
Why should I stay?
Still, some think I’m in the wrong.
“Friends” testify against me,
support those who want to defame me.

Sinners steal my squad,
twist their words to the judge,
and throw me behind bars.
They run after me
after seeing what I have.
I ain’t asking them
to be friends.
They do things to
make me think that way.

“Sorry, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” they say.

Put on a stranger’s face and walk away.
Why do I get in trouble
for sins that weren’t mine?
So they make me a criminal
and their inferiority melts inside.