PERSPECTIVE

by PAULA

Two men,
Too young.
Too early, they went too early.
Candlelight memorial to remind you that
Bullets aren’t prejudiced.

We can all take a lesson from that.
Focused on who someone wants to marry,
How dark their skin is, how big their lips are,
Whether they have on
North Face or K-Mart;
It’s none of our business.

It makes me ashamed to be part of this generation.
Thinking we have to
Call everyone out on their old 23s,

But grandma just couldn’t afford new ones this paycheck.
You know, she’s got them co-pays for her
Chemotherapy medicine.

The news is filled with guilty police and celebrity suicides.
Whitney Houston, Robin Williams, made
Billions
And it wasn’t enough.

You better toughen up.
Step up your game or you’ll get trampled in a stampede.

But, us?
We’re just another brigade of tired seniors
Trudging through.
Write your essay.
Do the cheat sheet for the test.
Check your email, waiting on that acceptance letter
Like you do every morning.

It feels like every time I reach for the stars I burn up in the atmosphere,
See, there’s
Too much pressure.

With three hours of homework, a job, sick parents,
You’re still expected to come to school smiling and on time.
And sometimes I swear it’s all too much,
But that diploma is getting closer by the day, close enough to taste, close enough to frame.
And we’re hanging on.

Cause I gotta make a name for myself in this world,
Past this town full of wanna be’s,
Wish I coulda been’s, and
God damn I never was.

Good ol’ Johhny boy
Had a chance to make it big.
He was blessed, intrinsic talent,
Spit the bars like it was his nature.
He had an affinity for fame but
The cocaine got the best of him, and he picked up that 45 and never looked back.

We’re living in a world where we question the intentions of our law enforcement.

Worried about which Kardashian got a new butt,

Worry about passing English instead.
Worry about the girl who tried to OD because you kept calling her a dyke.
Worry about where you’ll be five years from now
Without a bachelor’s degree,
Because you just couldn’t get your shit together.

Man,
I’m telling y’all,
Keep thinking it’s a game and you’ll come in last.

Y’all striving for the fast lane,
Slow down, baby girl.
It’s not like anyone makes it out of here alive.