Poems of a Teenage Cynic

Us and Them

They say that We love

And We are loved.

They say that We hope

And should hope.

They say We dream

And should dream.

They say all these things

And then They leave Us

On the side of the road.

They don't teach Us

How to love, hope, dream.

They don't tell Us

We are loved or

Hoped for or

Dreamed about.

They drop Us off

In a dark tunnel and leave,

Taking Our light with them.

And They tell Us They'll be back,

And so We wait.

But They never come for Us.

And so We stand up

And search for the light Ourselves.

Sometimes We stick together,

Sometimes We split up.

And when one finds the light,

They turn to the next person

And light their torch.

And they light the person next to them,

And so on, until We all have a light.

We can't trust in the lies

That They tell Us; They

Promise Us a feast,

Then give Us the scraps and bones.

They point and laugh at Us,

At how eager We are to scrabble

Among the trash heaps,

Getting on by little more than dust,

While They eat the steak and chicken.

It's all lies, darlin';

We can only rely on each other,

On the others like Us who

Refuse to settle for the leftovers,

Who are "looked down on"

For Our so-called "weaknesses."

They garner no entertainment

From Us because we do not

Live under Their thumbs.

Like a pet They thought was tame,

That turned and bit Them,

They lead Us on like dogs after a bone,

And We are satisfied to

Run along after Them, while

They take the bulk of the bounty

While they give Us rations.

But no more.

No longer do They control Us,

The small group of the escaped.

You can leave Them, but They

Leave no one unscathed.

Once Their poison touches you,

You'll want more--for a while.

And then you'll look to

Escape Them, and you'll

Seek Us out, to take you in,

To care for you, and teach

You how to love, and hope, and dream.

We're everywhere: big, small,

Young, old, short, tall.

We're waiting, looking for more to join Us.

So when you search Us out,

We'll be here.