It’s a bully atmosphere – RIGHT HERE,
Don’t close your ears, it won’t disappear
Society is diseased with this unease, kids on their knees,
Maliciousness floating upon the breeze.
Listen: It’s all around, it makes no sound…
It can be found behind the screens, in evil words up and downstream
In pacts, in gangs, in teams and dreams… in their very own small self-esteem
Its core is cowardice, malice, anger, intent,
Pent up dissent, vile malcontent.
This curse belongs to all of us, it needs our fuss,
To open up, discuss, yell out loud and clear and cuss…
Something… anything
To halt all this mistrust
And save our blessed, precious kids…
From dust.
Because the kids are not home-arriving,
They should be thriving, striving…
Simply, just surviving.
It’s terrifying.
What is this stress, the mess, the abscess which causes this distress?
This misbehaviour, this bad, bad flavour, this awful danger?
They blame teens behind screens being mean, remaining cowardly unseen;
They blame me, the adult for an “absence” cult, a never-ending sideline insult,
A too-soft discipline consult;
The kid who has an anger management glitch – ‘don’t flick her switch, take a gentle pitch’…
The teacher becomes parent, treating broken hearts,
Their smarts not trained in this particular art,
Trying theories that “wellbeing” will dry-clean the mean, right into has-been,
“Resilience” they call – ignore the bawl from down the hall, arise again from that terrible fall.
I don’t know, the messages appear a mess, the kids are in distress and I confess,
I don’t understand all this linguistic largesse
Yet, still goes on…
I don’t know what or how or where, but if you care,
Maybe we can put it out there LOUD into the air,
Share, prayer and dare, to challenge this nightmare.
Join forces, learn in courses, rally the enforcers,
Get right up upon, our mighty high-up horses
Because something must be done
To save our young…
Maybe even,
Your loved one.
