Miscreant Youth and the Setting Sun

Miscreant Youth and the Setting Sun

or

Too young too late



Look at the world old man; tell me what do you see?
What do you think when you when you’re looking at me?

Long scruffy hair, pierced lips, a tattoo;
And with cynical gaze I stare back at you.
Do you think I wouldn’t notice your narrowing eyes?
Your turned up lip; and you act so surprised

When the children don’t listen, when the youth just ignore,
When you reminisce about how it was all before.
In the world of your parents, in a time long ago;
“We listened to our elders, we never said no”.

Yet you choose to pass blame in a world you created;
As all of those things the ‘younger you’ hated
Have come now to pass; and in fact so much more,
For the planet it weeps like a festering sore

You’re now the enemy, you became the devil;
And you want me to speak and act on the level?
Your face speaks volumes when you look my direction
With a darkened stare devoid of affection.

So what do you think when you’re looking my way?
With a shake of your head, “It’s not the same today,
Where’s the respect after all we have done?”
But ye reap what ye sow, and now it’s begun.

After all those years spent just working for the man;
When you looked the other way, put your head in the sand;
As our rivers were poisoned, our forests no longer;
The government’s grip on our lives becomes stronger.

You stood by and watched as my dad went to war
To fight for more oil, to pollute a little more.
As our troops marched forth with sand in their eyes;
So many have died for so many lies.

There is nothing now left but a world of distractions;
The concept of ‘peace’ now seems an abstraction.
And finally it seems you’re now paying the price
For allowing ‘The Powers That Be’ to play dice.

For who are the ones whom do suffer the most?
Not just those who live where our government plays host;
But the generations to come who must repay your debt;
In a world you’d probably just sooner forget

A boy of 16, so rude, so uncouth;
‘Whatever happened to today’s youth?”
Yet to be a man; and to just 'fit in',
In a world with no hope, a world caving in,

Is harder now than you ever had to know;
For as much as we work there’s still nothing to show.
As so many things you once took for granted
Slip further away through the seeds you have planted.

A young girl who now, barely just in her teens,
Trying to compete with the beauty magazines
As she looks in the mirror and sucks in her gut
Pushes out her chest; and gets called a slut.

To just be accepted in a world which is still so unequal;
Am I liberated yet? Or is this just a sequel
To a life where I’m not just a wife and a mother;
Where we must have it all but compete with each other.

So I go off to college, I get my degree;
Yet surprise, surprise, there’s no work for me;
And now trapped in the system to pay off a fee;
Longing for a life that can never be.

Yet it could be so easy and I don’t understand,
Was it really so hard to just make a stand?
It makes me so angry; but yet you don’t you care
That the world I now live in is not at all fair.

There’s a saying that one often hears about the world.
That it’s not inherited from one’s parents I’m told.
But borrowed from our children, a bit like a loan;
To give back to them when they’re all fully grown

So what kind of world are you giving to me?
It’s the one mirrored back when you’re looking at me.





This was inspired by the poem many of you may already have seen known as ‘Crabby Old Man’, which did its rounds on facebook and the interwebs and even inspired a thread here on ATS (although the crabby old man became an old woman). That poem in case you’re wondering was actually written nearly 20 years ago by Dave Griffith and titled ‘Too old too soon’.

Hope you all enjoyed it

reply to post by 1littlewolf


Very good, Thank you for that

Maybe the little miscreant should be the one to change it instead of whining about it.
2nd.

Very nice S+F

I personally find a certain type of disconnect with certain individuals.

Originally posted by OhZone
Maybe the little miscreant should be the one to change it instead of whining about it.
2nd.

I guess someone's gotta hey pops...

reply to post by ladylove

reply to post by MDDoxs


Thanks both of you. The view expressed in the poem isn’t exactly how I think. I was to a certain degree taking advantage of the concept of ‘poetic license’ and ultimately I think everyone has to share a portion of the blame for why the world is the way it is…

But yeah, cheers so much for taking the time to read it and I’m glad you both enjoyed it