Hangmen

The funeral is black and gray
With crying parents;
What are we, they cry,
What didn't we do?
Brothers stand by shame-faced
Betrayed by Death.

At school today, they all cried,
And said how much they loved her.
But I heard the words they said,
I heard all their laughter.
But I didn't stand up for her,
Even though I saw, I knew,
These students were her hangmen.

I tried hard to be a friend,
But I couldn't get through her walls,
For I wouldn't let her through mine.
It wasn't enough; I should have
Tried harder; but I should have
Let her through.

And now guilt clenches my heart,
And I plunge into despair, because
I fear I was the worst of them:

I was her cruelest Hangman.