In my lifetime
I have seen towers tumble
religions battle
and countries crumble.
I have seen trains explode
and nuclear tests,
pleas for democracy
and civil unrest.
I have seen the hottest summers
and the coldest winters,
seen the tallest forests
reduced to splinters.
Hundreds of species
declared extinct,
while our carbon footprint
remains distinct.
A prediction written
for 1984,
a mistimed warning
we promptly ignore.
Prices rise and rise
for no reason,
and we all feel useless
come election season.
In my lifetime I have seen almost two hundred shootings,
innocent elementary students,
unsuspecting movie goers
shot for the tiniest movement.
Women getting harrassed on the streets,
or blamed for their own rape,
forced to carry babies they can't afford,
opinions shot down before they can take shape.
Girls kicked out of school
for the way they dress,
and schools insist
they don't oppress.
Black men beaten and shot
in plain daylight,
while criminals escape
because they are white.
I have seen peaceful protests
declared riots,
because the media sides with the oppressor
and keeps it quiet.
The people we trust to protect us
suddenly seen with fear,
risking lives
if we don't adhere.
I have seen the land of the free
become the home of the lost,
one side desperate to win
no matter the cost.
I have seen people murdered
for who they love or admire,
blocked at every turn,
or declared a liar.
Patriotism so ridiculous it's racist,
immigrants terrified of immigrants,
people of our own country
scared of militants.
I have seen whole families of soldiers
pulled away from loved ones and sent overseas,
in a war that no one ever really knows,
an ongoing struggle that never seems to cease.
But here in the States everything's fine,
we're perfect people, all okay,
we're the peaceful ones,
the rightful rulers of the day.
We carefully ignore information
that might open our eyes,
that might make us feel guilty
for perpetuating lies.
There are people
getting tear-gassed in the streets
and they have the gall
to call this peace.
But I refuse to have the wool
pulled over my eyes.
I will not ignore this suffering,
I will not accept these lies.
And because I am white--
--which I am well aware,
I'm told I don't have the right
to even care.
We are the future,
we are the young.
I should not be required
to hold my tongue.
We are repeating history,
I suddenly realize.
Why do we still
not allow people to rise?
So I ask the crowd
to guess my age
from the details given
from all of my rage.
"Are you sixty, one hundred,
or inbetween?"
"No Sir," I say,
"I'm only eighteen."
