The Wonders of Youth

"Ah, the pity that youth is wasted on the young." - George Bernard Shaw.

You're seventeen and have a kid
Another one on the way
Parents turned their backs, took away
That helping hand
Got a deadbeat baby-daddy who says he'll do what he can
(Which is, in fact, nothing)

You spend your days alone and you cry
As you do your nights
And at times you don't know why
You just go lay down in your baby's room
While she wails, not taking her milk or food

Then you have me and I try
I try to help in any way I can
But you just turn away, tears on your face
You cry that he left you, he doesn't love you
And I can't help you
Because we're worlds apart

Maybe you heard the news?
I heard it the other day
He's got another girl knocked-up
And a third with her third kid on the way
You'll furrow your brows and say that
All men are one and the same
But you fail to realize, as does he,
That both of you treat it like a game

And how many children are born like this?
With parents that are children themselves?
Numbers skyrocketing like Youtube hits
It is a problem we brought on ourselves
And it will only be us who ought to fix it

But I ask you: how many children are being brought into this world by children?
Some may scoff and say it's unfair
But I ask you again
Too many, I say.

Reviews

[Adora.xo]

This was an amazing piece. See what I love about your work is you take what is real, and make it feel surreal. But it's true, and the truth of it is what makes my heart ache, and squeeze. I could see it:

"You spend your days alone and you cry
As you do your nights
And at times you don't know why
You just go lay down in your baby's room
While she wails, not taking her milk or food"

I don't know if it's just because I have a vivid imagination, or if it's because I saw this girl who I basically grew up with. We were never close but we went to the same schools and then I never saw her again for a few years. When I did, she had a child and was pregnant with another, and her bf... well he was a dead-beat. But you made it personal almost:

"Then you have me and I try
I try to help in any way I can
But you just turn away, tears on your face
You cry that he left you, he doesn't love you
And I can't help you
Because we're worlds apart"

Because we're worlds apart... Gods, I know how that feels. And I think that particular part of this piece is what brought it to life for me. I could feel the pity. But I think was most tangible was the gritty reality that we all know and have seen if not only heard of. The tears rolling down her face, and the baby crying, in contrast with the almost stoic voice of the narrator grabbed me and wrapped the words around me.

Brilliant job Crow. Absolutely brilliant.

~Adora
xo