I’m looking for this girl
I didn’t hold her tight enough

She wore adventures on tattered jeans
And broken-in leather boots

She bore the sparkle of her mother’s eyes
And the intensity of her father’s gaze

Her skin the color of afternoons in soft haze
Softly scarred by summers and swings

The girl who suspended hours in moments
Whose touch only I am familiar
Whose embrace calmed my spirit

The girl with the perfectly crooked smile
That smelled of cinnamon and dandelions

She enchanted me with beautiful thoughts
Why didn’t I hold her tighter

Do not treat education as business.
They’re making millions off children
who reside in subsidized housing.

They're making millions off children
who ask mother "what's for dinner?"
even though it's 10:00 pm
and the lack of food in their stomach
has given them a hint as to what the answer is.

They’re making millions off children
who’ll end up dead or in jail before they’re 18.
If you don’t care or if you’re okay with that,
then just keep quiet.

Keep your opinions to yourself.
We’re all entitled to our own.
Quite frankly, I am not offended.
All I ask is that you don’t tell me
it's wrong to want change.

The education system in this country
is bound to fail many, but that does not mean
that I have to as well.
Do not tell me I can't cause change.

From experience,
I've realised that a
poem never changed anything.

In a world filled with changes
each and every day..

I feel I'm being judged
for what I do and say..

I remember back to toys
and play days at the park..

When I didn't worry about
other people's remarks..

Now looking in the mirror
I see to my surprise..

A completely different person
staring in my eyes..

The carefree little boy
I saw at 4 and 5..

Is now becoming a teen..
Just trying to survive...