What You've Said, What You've Done

People always tell me
You’re too young, you don’t understand.
You don’t need to hear this.
I’ll explain when you’re older.
Leave it to the adults.

You know what?
I won’t.
I refuse.

I turn eighteen in less than a year.
Do you want me to be uneducated?
Do you want me to be naïve?
Do you want me to make mistakes I could have avoided
If I had only known better?

You throw up the firewalls
But I’m hacking my way through them
Fueled by anger, by determination
To be better
To be smarter
To be more educated

You ask us why we’re addicted to our devices
Tell us they cause depression
Maybe they wouldn’t, you know
If we had anything good to read
In the news
As in, where we read about how you
Are screwing up the world

And we are preparing
For you to hand us this pile of crap
And say, “good luck,
It’s up to you now”
As you whisper behind your hands
That we aren’t ready
That we’re too sensitive
Too sheltered
Too internet dependent

Maybe we would be ready
If any of you bothered to explain anything to us
Bothered to tell us anything besides
You’re too young, you don’t understand.
You don’t need to hear this.
I’ll explain when you’re older.
Leave it to the adults.

We did leave it to you.
And look what you did.
 

Dramatic456

VT

YWP Alumni

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