dearly beloved: i hope when your daughter
says i don't want to go to school today,
you hear her. i hope you notice the way
the words seem to sink in the air like
she is pronouncing them with such a heft
that they cannot be supposed by her breath.
i hope you do not tell her you stayed up
late and that's why you're so tired.
dearly beloved, i hope you push her hair
back from her face and look into her eyes
and ask her to tel l you what is keeping
her from seeing her friends. dearly
beloved, do not rush to work throwing a
feel better over your shoulder. instead
take her into your arms and hold her.
dearly beloved: when your son stops eating,
you notice it. i hope that when his
shoulders cave towards each other and his
skin grows pale that you remember what it
was like to be a teenager and instead of
telling yourself he will grow out of it, i
hope you ask him why you can see all of
his ribs. dearly beloved, i hope you find
his razorblades before he becomes addicted,
i hope you roll back your sleeves and sit
down, scars showing, and kiss his forehead
and tell him the stories he has been to
young to know beforehand. dearly beloved,
don't you dare tell that young man that
depression only happens to teenage girls.
dearly beloved, tell him you stood where you stand.