Why can't I save them all?

Ashley sat alone in her dark shadowed room,
victimized by depression's embracing gloom.
She held a knife her small shaking hand,
and made one final cut, at depression's command.

Why couldn't I stop her?

Greg lacked the motivation to do well in school,
resigning himself to be satisfied with being "cool."
He graduated high school, and his popularity died down,
he became lost, and wondered six feet under ground.

Why didn't I teach him?

Natasha's parents were unable to pay the bills,
so they sold her as a prostitute slave, against her will.
She was prostituted until the age of twenty-one,
when she decided to turn her life over to a gun.

Why was I too late to free her?

Joey's parents always dwelt in alcohol's clutch,
putting him in constant fear for their abusive touch.
He hid the bruises and cuts just like every day before,
Until he took his life because he couldn't cope anymore.

Why was I unable to protect him?

Sammy's mother had turned to over dosing on drugs,
giving Sammy hospital bills to pay instead of hugs.
So then Sammy followed in her mother's destructive path,
but she was unable to be saved by the hospital staff.

Why couldn't I rescue her?

Chris found comfort in being a member of a gang,
until the day this "family" left him on a tree to hang.
Chris decided that for him the gang rules didn't apply,
an attitude that sent him off this earth, into the sky.

Why couldn't I redirect him?

Kelsey's father died far before his time to go,
leaving her heart shattered, feeling lonely and low.
She remained alone and isolated until the very end,
deciding that smoking would be her only friend.

Why wasn't I able to reach her?

Mike didn't know how to tell people he was sad,
he couldn't say that inside he felt confused and bad.
He tried to drown his emotions with beer every night,
living under the influence until the day be gave up his fight.

Why couldn't I breathe life into him?

Kari was fourteen when she left home and ran away,
but she never made it far from her apartment that day.
She was caught in a cross fire between the police and a mob,
She was the victim of violence, her life had been robbed.

Why couldn't I revive her?

Justin was a sports star, the best quarter back on his team,
playing football in the pro league was his fondest dream.
But a severe injury prevented him from reaching his best,
And he gave up on living, feeling like he failed life's test.

Why couldn't I heal him?

Alicia was a role model as someone honest and kind,
helping and caring for every person she could find.
Then she was told that her chubby stomach was a sin,
and by fatal starvation, a skinny body she did win.

Why didn't I reassure her?

Andy's parents had an impulsive one-night stand,
Which produced him, a baby they did not plan.
So they abandoned him inside his mother's womb,
Depriving him of life, a funeral and a proper tomb.

Why didn't I fight for him?

Why couldn't I save him?

Why couldn't I save them all . . .

This poem is also linked to my other poem "This one's for the Pain."

-Tainted