A/N: I read the book "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky recently and found the poem inside it very beautiful and moving. As a result, I decided to write my own version based on it, following the same format. Here it is...

Letters

Once on a piece of stationery with pink lines
she wrote a letter
And signed it with red hearts
because that was all she could give
And nothing else
And mailed it far, far away
to a place in the mountains
And waited patiently for a reply
to hang on to
That was the year she got all straight A’s
a certificate and a medal
And won the essay contest
And got a teddy bear
for her birthday
And a cake with candles too
And her mother hugged her close
kissed her with tears in her eyes
and she wanted to ask why
And her mother always called at night to tell stories
And always had time to do it

Once on a piece of white paper with blue lines
she wrote a letter
And signed it with her love
because that was all she could give
And nothing else
And mailed it far, far away
to a place obscured by smoke and noise
And waited patiently for a reply
to respond to
That was the year she got a B
a red X and a check minus
And refused to be disappointed
And got a brand-new piano
for Christmas
And no one to teach her how
And her mother sent a kiss through the phone
talked with a tremor in her voice
and she wanted to reassure her
And her mother called less often
And was too busy to tell stories

Once on a piece of printer paper with no lines
she typed a letter
And signed it with tears
because that was all she could give
And nothing else
And walked down the hall to deliver it
sticking it under the door
And walked back to her room
locking herself in
That was the year she didn’t make honors
failed a test and didn’t care
And stared out the window all day long
And got a used computer
out of charity
And a coffee-stained desk too
And her mother wasn’t allowed to call
And never told any more stories

That’s why on the back of a torn-up card
she tried another letter
And ended up with nothing
Because that was really all she had left to give
And she gave herself a fairy tale
and a slash on each damned wrist
And threw it in the trash
because this time there was no one
to send it to and nobody cared.

----- Here is the original poem...

Once on a yellow piece of paper with green lines
he wrote a poem
And he called it "Chops"
because that was the name of his dog
And that's what it was all about
And his teacher gave him an A
and a gold star
And his mother hung it on the kitchen door
and read it to his aunts
That was the year Father Tracy
took all the kids to the zoo
And he let them sing on the bus
And his little sister was born
with tiny toenails and no hair
And his mother and father kissed a lot
And the girl around the corner sent him a
Valentine signed with a row of X's
and he had to ask his father what the X's meant
And his father always tucked him in bed at night
And was always there to do it

Once on a piece of white paper with blue lines
he wrote a poem
And he called it "Autumn"
because that was the name of the season
And that's what it was all about
And his teacher gave him an A
and asked him to write more clearly
And his mother never hung it on the kitchen door
because of its new paint
And the kids told him
that Father Tracy smoked cigars
And left butts on the pews
And sometimes they would burn holes
That was the year his sister got glasses
with thick lenses and black frames
And the girl around the corner laughed
when he asked her to go see Santa Claus
And the kids told him why
his mother and father kissed a lot
And his father never tucked him in bed at night
And his father got mad
when he cried for him to do it.

Once on a paper torn from his notebook
he wrote a poem
And he called it "Innocence: A Question"
because that was the question about his girl
And that's what it was all about
And his professor gave him an A
and a strange steady look
And his mother never hung it on the kitchen door
because he never showed her
That was the year Father Tracy died
And he forgot how the end
of the Apostle's Creed went
And he caught his sister
making out on the back porch
And his mother and father never kissed
or even talked
And the girl around the corner
wore too much makeup
That made him cough when he kissed her
but he kissed her anyway
because that was the thing to do
And at three A.M. he tucked himself into bed
his father snoring soundly

That's why on the back of a brown paper bag
he tried another poem
And he called it "Absolutely Nothing"
Because that's what it was really all about
And he gave himself an A
and a slash on each damned wrist
And he hung it on the bathroom door
because this time he didn't think
he could reach the kitchen.