Why Do You Cut

I asked this teenage boy one day
The reasons why he chose to cut
He told me it was the only way
To get the pain out of his gut

He said his cuts each tell a story
To him those marks mean a lot
He wears them filled with glory
But some of the reasons he forgot

Once his mother shouted loudly
So again the knife slashed his skin
He showed his friends proudly
How he released the pain from within

In school he failed a math’s test
So he cut his arm really deep
He soon became overly obsessed
With watching his own blood seep

Over 300 scars on his outer shell
All caused my his own hand
To show how he survived living hell
But still I could not understand

One day the boy will grow to a man
And scars do not disappear or fade
He has not thought since he began
That soon he will resent the blade

At 14 can he really know the truth
How people in the future will react
All because of depression in his youth
Others will one day chose to retract

Maybe he will one day make a mistake
And never get the chance to be an adult
He cannot see now how much is at stake
Or that he could die young as a result

I wish that I could reach out to him
And take away all of his pain and hurt
I want to stop him from giving in
Not see his body lowered into the dirt