Gen Z

chemicals and hormones

are off in my head

they whisper and cry

“you’re better off dead.”

but no, I’m not special,

I’m not one of few cases

I’m just another

of millions of faces

and why doesn’t anyone change anything?

drugging up kids won’t fix a damn thing

has anyone asked

why we’re all so depressed?

not cause we’re fragile

we’re back-breakingly stressed.

and then grownups say

“you’re too young to be worried!”

but then the tears come,

and it starts to get blurry.

If these are going to be

the best years of my life

Why am I worried about

being a wife?

about going to college,

and paying tuition,

I’m so screwed,

no amount of wishing

can change the fact that

society’s broken

why can’t we pay bills

with chuck E cheese tokens?

instead we are told that until we die

that money’s important!

keep your eye

on careers and family,

never pursue

any interest

that might not include

math or science

or medicine or law

because god forbid

I do anything at all

to make myself happy

but that’s not what’s important

because only practicality

makes it all worth it!

and on top of all that,

don’t get me started

on social injustice,

and our dearly departed.

we live in a world

where we don’t share basic rights,

and peaceful protests

are taken as fights.

we’re inheriting the earth

from racist old hags

you ruined the economy,

go pack your own bags

and take your hatred

and bigotry with you.

and that’s definitely not

our most pressing issue,

because we’re cooking our planet

and we’re all gonna die,

and the only one who cares

is bill sanford nye.

but what does it matter?

I’m only sixteen,

all I’ve ever known

is all I've ever seen.