Change One Thing - (some time long ago)

I asked my friend at lunch one day
a question that brought great dismay
"I know this question may sound strange,
but what one thing would you change?"
"I'd change the way I see,"
said the girl sitting next to me.
"My glasses make me look so strange.
That's the thing that I would change."
"I'd change the way I think,"
said a boy without a blink.
"My brain is slow, so they tease me.
To be smart would make me happy."
"I'd change the way I talk,"
I said, as I leaned against the wall.
"My voice sounds strange, I often squeak,
I'm always getting called a geek."
"If I could change one thing,"
said a girl we'd never seen,
"I'd have to pick from three.
I think I'd change the way we see
ourselves and those around.
we never see the pain we cause
when we put other down.
or perhaps I'd change the way we thing,
make us know how much they blink
to hold back tears that aren't their fault.
But I think I'd change the way we talk
to others and ourselves.
I wish we'd put those hurtful words
back upon the shelf."
And then she turned and walked away.
She'd said all that she had to say.
We took it hard, those things she said.
Their truth was just above our heads.