A young boy full of sadness comes home
He puts his heavy backpack on the beer crate placed upside down
He puts his new cellphone and headsets on the crate too
He puts his water bottle aswell
He takes off his school shoes and balances them on the side of the crate
He puts his jersey on top of the bag

He puts down noise from the hooting taxis at the taxi rank
He puts down the tongue clicks and stares from school mates
He puts down the sobbing from his boyfriend’s lips
He puts down his teacher’s sweet, floral scent
He puts down the smell of chicken mayo sandwich coming from his friend’s lunch box

He puts down his longing for his mother
He puts down the hate crimes happening in his area
He puts down the threats he gets from “men”
He puts down Kenneth’s “forbidden” love for him
He puts down the anger of never having a relationship with his father
He puts down the pain of losing his mother

The crate makes a cracking sound
It is overloaded
It still has some space to put something else though
But is it strong enough?
A bowl of noodles and a glass of juice is all that can fit now
And it sure won’t break, just as the boy’s heart
They are both strong and will make it through to the next day