Say Their Names

They were too young to carry the weight of

silence, of shame, of unspoken hate. Amanda wrote her pain in

light, but no one saw her final night. Tyler floated in

the Hudson tide while Facebook laughed and looked aside.

We failed them. When their voices shook, we stayed still. When the monsters

laughed, we watched the kill. One by one, they slipped away,

another name, another grave. We failed them, and now we

say their names. Jamie cried beneath his skin. They mocked the