Who By Words of Fire

With apologies to Leonard Cohen, some new and timely verses to one of his well-known songs.

And who by words of fire,
who by ice cold shoulder,
who by recess ridicule,
who by playground put-down,
who with sneers and slurs,
who when the teacher’s back is turned,
who by lunch table lockout,
who by yo-yo friendship,
And who
shall I say
is calling?

And who in stairwell secrecy,
who by mimicry,
who by sing-song serenade,
who by twisted nickname,
who by scornful snickering,
who by tackling,
who by tolerated torment,
who by contemptuous comment,
And who
shall I say
is calling?

And who by exclusion,
who by omission,
who by insinuation,
who by nomination,
who by intimidation,
who by provocation,
who by mock molestation,
who for the lulz,
And who
shall I say
is calling?

And who by anonymous phone call,
who by text message torpedo,
who by human blockade,
who with a hostage house-key,
who by footprint faceplant
who by saliva salvos,
who in a toppled port-a-john,
who by webcam invasion,
And who
shall I say
is calling?

And who with shattered self-esteem,
who with self-directed blame,
who by building barriers,
who forever feeling flawed,
who shamed into silence,
who with exterminated trust,
who with the everlasting echo,
who with scars that never heal,
And who
shall I say
is calling?

. . . . .

Bullying destroys lives. How many more must suffer?
Enough.