I just can't help but wonder

If by you saying "I love you"
Is just another way of saying "I love the feeling of you".

That your fantasy of us
Was just an illogical fallacy of lust
Because in truth, I fear you do not think with your heart-
In betrayal, I will always trust.

I wish we were back to those beautiful days;
The days where we would pick strawberries,
On the coats of Norway-
Swing carelessly, on the seasides of Whales.

Now, we just pick fights on the depths of our insecurities,
Say careless, arrogant things out of spite-
I miss when "I love you", wasn't an apology.

Maybe you can love me for real this time,
and not like the times we've shared.
I hope that one day "I love you" will mean no more
than just a few words to show mediocre affection-
And I won't need it as my life line,
Or my everlasting addiction for approval from you.

Maybe one day, we won't even have to say
"I love you",
Because on that day, we wouldn't have to wonder
What the answer would be.

For once, I deserve that.

I fear living for someone
centring someone in my universe
I fear not not wanting to be alone
constant noise in my silence
I fear wasting my time on someone
putting my life on hold for them to leave
I fear a lifetime of small talk
being a product of their routines and races
I fear not finding belonging
not being in control
I fear the prison of my mind
never finding the person I don't fear with
I fear not being special in the insignificance
never being not afraid to be vulnerable
I fear only existing

The youth have been conflicted
By things that cannot be depicted
But in this piece I will attempt it.
In modern day life,
The youth have been quite misunderstood
There are a few reasons see:
We are brought into a world filled with lies
And as time flies by
We realize
That the world has been cold for a long time.
Stress is being put on our shoulders and we don’t know why.
We’re still young and need time to strive.
Please tell me why the older generations break us down…
We are constantly under attack by our parents, teachers and the elderly.
We are expected to act grown but we are treated like children.
They say we lack discipline.
They say we are not in touch with nature.
They say we are politically and socially apathetic.
But they fail to note the fact that the youth have strong voices that speak out to the world but don’t get acknowledged.
There is nothing wrong with the youth,
We just face different problems that older generations did not.
We are a product of our society.
But where do our voices go?
They tell us “sit down kid, you don’t know what you’re talking about”.
Or
“I know better because I’ve been alive longer”.
Shame…
The world is cold
And it just keeps getting colder.
Don’t you know?
We were birthed to reverse the mistakes that were made on this earth.
Our voices surround the world in an effort to reinforce the words of the greats before us.
Efforts ignored become youth’s frustration.
Society says we act up.
But in fact, we are just struggling to be heard.
When will we be heard?
What are we worth?
When will the youth of today gain the ability to speak?

-Willie Rios-Gonzalez

By Arcassin Burnham

At one point in time , I was apart of you.
I replaced my soul with a pile of wool.
Covered all over me, no you were a distant memory.
I wish i could stare down at that lake again and wonder.

I was a,
Teenage **** up, a social pariah,
I was a,
Force to be reckoned, and sensual liar,
I was a,
Little boy to you when you were a woman,
I had no,
Time to be around a girl calling me her man,
See I had,
So much nervousness, I could barely breathe,
There was too,
Much in this world to endure for me,
I ain't no,
Scared little kitten, I'm too much of a Liger,
There is no,
Time nowadays to change the past , inspire.