the praise we should have gave

I remember Tommy like it was yesterday
He was the skinniest and always last when picked to play
It wasn’t that he was the worst or best, it just always happened that way
And I was always the captain and could have changed it any day…
Tommy was passionate about what he loved but didn’t have the guts to say
Hey, just for once don’t pick me so last you forget to ever call my name
But for some reason we just didn’t change
We all acknowledged he was there and that he tried his hardest in every game
And it was never for the trophies or even the accolades

Maybe I should have given him a hand and even the well deserved praise
But instead we kept quiet and just watched him thinking… he isn’t that bad for his frame
And he got better with each game he played
He ran harder and faster than any of us could train
Then picking him last sort of became like a game
We wanted to pretend like he was still the same because of his gawky frame
But the truth is… we were unable to meet his gaze

And then one day… Tommy just didn’t show up to play
He hadn’t said a word to any of us and then the skies turned gray
So we convinced ourselves to go home and said the rain was to blame
But without Tommy… how could that game even be played?
The teams would be uneven and winning just wouldn’t mean the same
We always knew that day may come, but we weren’t ready when it came  
And the next day we set up a game with one sub and pretended it was all okay

Because we didn’t want to see the impression we portrayed
I went home feeling so guilty because I admired him from a distance but just couldn’t say… thanks…
I felt like it was just to little to late and for that the burden I’ll always pay
Because we each had our reasons for not thanking Tommy but admired him every day
And as much as we wanted to dislike him we just couldn’t hate the kid trying to obtain
The respect of his peers more than the fame, yet we read him like we knew what he had to say
The truth is we didn’t have the guts so we remained quiet and he stomached the pain

I still feel the burden of Tommy’s pain because maybe if I wasn’t so high on myself I would say
“Hey man, great game” and today I wouldn’t carry the shame of never offering the praise he had gained

Author's Note

a story of feeling under appreciated and not respected after having contributing so much... this is a lesson for adults through the metaphor of childish ways we behave

Reviews

[TJ]

good write! I like how you used children to illustrate the meassage because it happens to so many people everyday

[KimLove "The Beautiful ..]

That was as beautiful as it was inspriational. It was such a pleasure to read this beautiful write. If any should be published this one surely does. You deserve a standing ovation. BRAVO BRAVO

[Helpless]

nicely! amazing emotional expression!

[Curio Arca]

This poem tells a story, an important one, and I like that.