You Deserve Better

To everyone out there who either smokes, or knows someone closely or far away that smokes. You can do better, mistakes aren't always forever, and hope is a matter of faith in yourself and support!

Formally known as Together This Is A Mission

You Deserve Better
By Kaitlyn Violette

Every morning I am awakened to the fact
That this is no nightmare
Even as it seems as so

I watch from afar
The scene engulfs my body
Tears blur my vision
Fear covers my joyful emotions

You light it up and I know I should look away,
But I know I have to see this,
So I can understand why I need to help,
Why I cry and why I can't give up.

The smoke I can see now and almost smell,
The distance doesn't matter; the scene is too strong.
It burns inside of me like I am right next to you.

Why do you love it so much?

Why is it so strong?

Why is it such a killer?

You can do so much better,
This isn't how it's meant to be,
Why can't you see that?

Why can't you imagine it?
The future you will behold

One day it will come,
You're older and wiser,
But you still can't see,
That there is a way to quit
The loneliness it's caused you,
Soon your hair's falling out,
After the news that your diagnosed with something I've dreaded,
You'll die soon they tell you,
You can't fight it forever, the doctors explain,
You can't fight it much longer.

It has shortened your life,
Like I knew it would too.

And you look at me with those big sad eyes,
And now you see why I cried.

You finally see why,
You understand more what I feel inside,
Why I would beat myself up inside,
When you wouldn't listen, and it felt like there was nothing I could do,
What I've always felt within,
Something takes me back to the present,
Away from my thoughts of the future.

I come back to the present
Back to the world where I care about you so much
And I don't want to see that happen to you
I'd fight for that
But I know it has the will, the will you won't try to fight.

I care about what happens to you
Not just because you're a friend,
Not only because I've known you close to forever,
Or because we've grown up together,
Or because we live around the corner from each other.

But because you're a person,
Who has made a mistake,
A person that stands like everyone else.

I care about what happens to your life.
Maybe because of your smile
Maybe that you won't hit a girl when she gets on your nerves

So when I see after school
The steps to when it's being done
And then done
Long lasting afterwards
Continuing
As I watch you from afar
In dread

The pack pulled out
The lighter coming out
You bend over
A fire is lite and quickly disappears again
The smoke comes out
The white stick stands like a rocket so close to take off
Sitting on your lips
Tarring and chocking your lungs
Shutting them down
Leading to the end of your life

That is why I cry
Scared you won't listen
And scared to talk about it
But I know I have to
The butterflies are stronger now, like they always get
As I pick up the phone
It's scaring me to death
I never thought that you would smoke
But I can't give up
So that is why I try
And I will never stop.

I want to save your life
Because everyone else just wants to annor it
Pretend this isn't happening
And there's nothing we can do about it
But I won't throw away the hope
I won't throw your life in a pit

I try,
And I continue to try

I dial your number and you quickly pick up
I try to explain myself
As I'm falling apart

You say I can't help
You keep on saying no
Stop saying there is no use
I don't want to weep
Or cry out to you,
But it's getting so hard as we talk
Tears are threatening to pour down my face
I don't know if you've heard it
The misery in my tone
As it quivers
You try to explain why it'd never work
But you don't know you make me cry myself to sleep at night
How it torments me in my dreams

There's no point in even trying
Others have tried, you spoke
I begged you to let me help,
But you kept telling me the two lettered word,
NO

People die from smoking every day I pleaded
I don't want you to die young, my voice raised
But you just pushed me away, like I dreaded
You claimed that would never happen to you

You clamed you would quit by yourself

So I asked you to call if you needed help
Doubting, but hoping it would happen
I silently promised him and myself
I would never give up

You've heard the stories
But you have fought the truth
You have hurt yourself too unknowingly
Have stomped on the hearts of those who have tried to help you

But for me it's not dead yet
Not gone with the wind
I'm not done yet
The dream's still standing

The tears leave wet lines down my cheeks
Leading into my mouth, and my mouth becomes salty
As I hang up the phone
Another failure

I want to always be able to play sports by your side
To feel my feet on the court and in the mud
I want to always see your smiling face
I want to know you'll be here for a long time
I want to have the memories of you
Forever and always

So please don't let me die inside when I see you light up a cigarette
And please don't tell me there's no use
'Cause your life is worth it

One day I'll see you and look you into your eyes
But I won't turn away to hid
Because I want you to see why I cry
And why I try

This isn't just a project I dreamed up one night
You mean something to me
And I know I can't give up

I wish you could see how much this means to me
I want you to know that it's hurting me, putting into me misery

Time now is similar to how it use to be
I don't know much about you
But I want to

It's weird how life can change so much
From strangers to friends
Creeping to strangers again

We can stand together
This is a mission

No matter what the enemy your cigarette says
You deserve better
Better then you've been tossed
Your life won't be lost
If you stepped up with me
And take back your life!