Epitaph

I've never been a saint of morals or their authority
I spent my sophomore year convincing my peers they hated me
I made it my life's work to step up and counteract the hate I'd made
But ethos and kindness, they failed me, and not a soul believed I'd changed

Years went by and I remained the outcast in their eyes
Changing their hearts was foolish but, if nothing, at least I tried
They used to be better than me
Then tunnel visioned my ugly side
Said the world would be better without me
Yet till the end, I tried

They buried me face down
And wrote it on my Epitaph
Despite my good intentions
I passed away the odd man out
I carried their hate on my shoulders
Now my body lies beneath their grief
They carved all the love from my heart
And acted like I was the thief

"I'll admit I'm far from the best
But you always took it out on me when you needed to get something off your chest"
I wrote that in hopes that a kind soul would find and inscribe it below my name
Well someone did find it, but they made sure I felt every ounce of shame

They put it up everywhere, headlined: "the outcast thinks we don't treat him right"
Or maybe it was all in my head but it's hard to see through the lonely nights
They used to be better than me
Then tunnel visioned my ugly side
Said the world would be better without me
Yet till the end, I tried

They buried me face down
And wrote it on my Epitaph
Despite my good intentions
I passed away the odd man out
I carried their hate on my shoulders
Now my body lies beneath their grief
They carved all the love from my heart
And acted like I was the thief

All I ever wanted was for someone to give me a chance
So the world could see that I had changed and so I would have a friend at last