The Line

This pressure around me,
it's not the same
as what the officer told me
it would be.

"So just say no."
But tell me now,
just what do I do,
if no one asks?

Words need not be spoken.
The muffled sounds
of kids out back smoking
are loud enough
to pierce through my ears.

Don't want it?
That's fine.
Just more for me.

And that's their nightly
philosophy.

So what is this force
that's driving me mad,
straight into that wall
'tween good and bad?

Decisions to make
and friendships to break;
it's too much to take,
just too much to take.

From time to time,
temptation grabs hold.
It gives me a shake
and throws me around.
Stumbling backwards,
I fall to the ground.

I'd get up and fight,
but that thin white line
between victory and loss,
benefit and cost,
is too blurred to be seen.

Just a typical story
of another mixed up teen.