We exist in earnest and are undeterred, even at our worst.
Let the generations before us call us all the names they want,
while we kindly remind them we are who they raised us to be.
Tell a kid they can be anything when they grow up —
don’t get mad that they chose to be a rebel.
Tell us to get an education if we want to be a somebody —
don’t get mad when we use that education to study
all the flaws in the systems you built.
Tell us as a generation to follow our dreams —
don’t get mad that we demand better lives
for ourselves and for our children.
Force us to watch 3,000 people dying on live TV,
replay it for weeks on end when we’re only 10,
and you don’t get to pretend it’s our fault
for despair becoming our default setting.
We are done with the lies you fed us,
and we’ve grown immune to the tactics
you’ve designed to divide us.
Because no matter the cost,
we are ready to leave behind
a better world for the generations
that will one day survive us.
If you liked this poem, consider becoming a paid subscriber for $5 a month on Substack, as it helps support writers like me who are out here trying to make a living by telling stories. If you’re currently on the free subscriber list, you can always upgrade to the paid subscription at any time, and my hope is that the more folks who sign up, the more exclusive content I will be able to share here.
As for this piece, it was one written out of a righteous rage I’ve been feeling lately at the state of things, and in particular, it is a bit of a love letter to my generation. Millenials were promised so much and given so little, so my hope is this poem hits different for those of you who grew up around the same time I did.
As always, thanks for reading. Here’s to building a better world.
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Featured Photo by Elayna Mae Darcy (from the Occupy Wall St protests at Philadelphia City Hall) © 2011
Elayna Musings 