The Guilt is Ours Too
by Marc Mangel
He had once been nameless and faceless
just another student at the junior high
a boy on a bike
filled with life and hope
And then his face appeared
on the front page
no longer nameless
but a young man
murdered
First they beat him
kicked him
did he scream
did he cry
surely he felt alone
and felt
fear
where were we?
He haunts me now
Does he haunt them
those young bastards
Then they pushed him
Pushed him into
a train
And the train killed
him.
He haunts me
I see him stumble
in the dark
searching for shelter
in a storm of blows
blinded by blood
and blows to
the head
Feeling fear
Feeling so alone
Surely we failed him.
How much hate
how much anger
had they felt
as they kicked and beat
and pushed him
into the train that
killed him.
And we?
We shall shake our heads
bemoan the “use of
alcohol by teens”
arrogantly claim “but
they had 3rd and B”
and now young
killers
sit and wait
but
we failed him
and the guilt is ours too.
for a murdered young man, whom I never
knew
27-30 April 1992