To Arms

Arm us
with the warpaint of our
generational struggle

Remind us
that we are strong
(stronger than our parents
stronger than we ever should have been)

Show us
that we matter
that our voices don’t fall on deaf ears
and unwelcoming shoulders
that it doesn’t matter what I was wearing
I still
wasn’t asking for it

Believe in us
in our power to change the world we inherited
we never asked for this cold,
broken world.
Don’t blame us.

Teach us what to do to make things better
why history matters
how words can unseat an empire
and crown a new queen

Arm us with these things so we have
a fighting chance for the
future