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Kangaroo Court.
Child
silent tears roll down
inside
Children
noisy jeers ring out
around
battered asphalt
Judgement pronounced
for no other reason
than being different
Years
decades pass
scars heal
However
at one out of place
innocent
word
tears begin
again to fall
Reaction is
to defend self and sanity
facing the world
as a kangaroo court
© Berenice Dunford 2003 |
Childhood bullying shouldn't happen. It does. Fact. Time after time I hear of another child, often as young as primary school age, who has committed suicide due to bullying from within their peer group. It is an isolating experience that can make or break the life of a young person. I know because, from the age of eight until I began secondary school at twelve, I was bullied.
I consider myself one of the lucky ones. I made it into adulthood. But it left scars. Invisible ones of mistrust, defensiveness, building barriers at the first sign of hostility. I had to learn not only to believe in the human race as a whole, but also in myself. I gained individuality, through the fight for self respect. That is a blessing, to be able to stand up and say "I am me, and proud of who I am."
It has also been featured in Kensington and Norwood Writers' Group
2003 RETROSPECTIVE
(18 August section)
Image courtesy of Ellen Dunford (original photograph) & Pris Campbell (editing ~ oil effects)
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