Writing

To all of the adults distrusting of youth, I must ask you,

Who’s the teenage guy you have in mind?

I’ve seen the guy you have in mind

I’m sure he’s disinterested in real issues

Smoking, committing petty crimes

Cold demeanour, doesn’t cry, doesn’t grab a tissue

Hiding secret anxiety, pretends to be resigned

Too careless, with an idealistic worldview

When in society he’s just ignorant and blind

No maturity, how is he allowed to continue?

Progressive but no perception, his ideas should be neutralized

Pretending to be tough, but just a sheep in wolf’s clothing

But we aren’t these teenage guys

We just try to learn and progress

We’re the most educated generation to date

We’re the most literate, we’re the most tolerant

We’re the strongest, we’re the tallest

We’re the future labourers, we’re the future leaders

We’re the future dictators, and the activists who oppose them

We’re not immature, just from a different generation

We do have issues to work on

But why do these problems exist?

Because you’ve a life of comfort

Your Freon in the air, a one-thousand degree sky, and global warming in our minds

Acidic tears from the atmosphere, making our skies cry

The punishment for these mistakes fall on us

As the seas rise and our temperatures warm, you’ll all be cold

Don’t blame us, when it all comes crashing down, as

When we ask you to change

When we ask you to familiarize yourselves to technology and our future

We’re met with deafening silence or a crowd of jeers

So who are the dumb ones, who are the ignorant ones?

Is it the young teenage guys, seeking guidance in a troubling world

Or the old men calling the shots who refuse to change their ways?

I just want to work hard for the future

I hope you know, I’m not the teenage guy you had in mind