Life In the Fast Lane

She sits on the bathroom floor 
Hiding behind a tightly closed door 
Afraid that prying eyes will see 
What society has forced her to be 

With fingers pushed halfway down her throat 
On the remains of dinner she silently chokes
The taunting cries of her classmates in mind 
Loudly calling her fat all the time 

Just a size ten but not a three 
Like the girls in magazines you see 
Thighs that need to be as slim as a boys 
Boobs need to be as large as flotation toys

He sits and stares at his pale skin 
Apparently white is out, tan is in 
Long hours spent on a tanning bed 
Risking skin cancer to fit in instead

Only sixteen, muscles not developed yet 
Need to be leaner and stronger he frets 
And so the need to be more than he is drives 
To bottles of steroids he soon arrives 

The school bell rings, all the kids scatter 
Except one lonely girl that seems not to matter 
Classified as poor by the labels on her jeans
Not worth socializing with by those that have means 

The parking lot is filled with such flashy cars 
Kids talking on cell phones, their heads in the stars
Gucci sunglasses draped across their nose
Life as an stereotype dawns clear and slows

Everyone wants to emulate a great big star 
Society tells them it's no good to be who you are
You have to be better than everyone else you see 
The thinner, the tanner, the richer, the better you'll be

Girls should be blond, blue eyed and demure 
Sexy and seductive, rich and not poor 
Boys should be muscular yet tanned and lean 
With smiles so white they blind when seen 

Everyone needs to drive a fast fancy car 
Designer clothes are the very best by far 
For all those that don't fit the wonderful dream 
The world doesn't even see them it seems

Too much hype splashed across billboards to the young 
Expectations are too high but are haphazardly slung 
Into the schoolyard the hype does quickly spread 
Feeding egos and turning them into bullies instead 

Those that have more and who fit the desired mold 
Hassling those that haven't reached the gold
Next thing you know there's a kid with a gun 
Trying to silence the voices of everyone 

Then we wonder what happened to him 
Well the truth is, he just couldn't fit in 
Too many stereotypes not enough understanding 
Life just became too absolutely demanding
Copyright © | Year Posted 2006


Post Comments

Poetrysoup is an environment of encouragement and growth so only provide specific positive comments that indicate what you appreciate about the poem. Negative comments will result your account being banned.

Please Login to post a comment

Be the first to comment on this poem. Encourage this poet.

Get a Premium Membership
Get more exposure for your poetry and more features with a Premium Membership.
Book: Radiant Verses: A Journey Through Inspiring Poetry

Member Area

My Admin
Profile and Settings
Edit My Poems
Edit My Quotes
Edit My Short Stories
Edit My Articles
My Comments Inboxes
My Comments Outboxes
Soup Mail
Poetry Contests
Contest Results/Status
Followers
Poems of Poets I Follow
Friend Builder

Soup Social

Poetry Forum
New/Upcoming Features
The Wall
Soup Facebook Page
Who is Online
Link to Us

Member Poems

Poems - Top 100 New
Poems - Top 100 All-Time
Poems - Best
Poems - by Topic
Poems - New (All)
Poems - New (PM)
Poems - New by Poet
Poems - Read
Poems - Unread

Member Poets

Poets - Best New
Poets - New
Poets - Top 100 Most Poems
Poets - Top 100 Most Poems Recent
Poets - Top 100 Community
Poets - Top 100 Contest

Famous Poems

Famous Poems - African American
Famous Poems - Best
Famous Poems - Classical
Famous Poems - English
Famous Poems - Haiku
Famous Poems - Love
Famous Poems - Short
Famous Poems - Top 100

Famous Poets

Famous Poets - Living
Famous Poets - Most Popular
Famous Poets - Top 100
Famous Poets - Best
Famous Poets - Women
Famous Poets - African American
Famous Poets - Beat
Famous Poets - Cinquain
Famous Poets - Classical
Famous Poets - English
Famous Poets - Haiku
Famous Poets - Hindi
Famous Poets - Jewish
Famous Poets - Love
Famous Poets - Metaphysical
Famous Poets - Modern
Famous Poets - Punjabi
Famous Poets - Romantic
Famous Poets - Spanish
Famous Poets - Suicidal
Famous Poets - Urdu
Famous Poets - War

Poetry Resources

Anagrams
Bible
Book Store
Character Counter
Cliché Finder
Poetry Clichés
Common Words
Copyright Information
Grammar
Grammar Checker
Homonym
Homophones
How to Write a Poem
Lyrics
Love Poem Generator
New Poetic Forms
Plagiarism Checker
Poetry Art
Publishing
Random Word Generator
Spell Checker
What is Good Poetry?
Word Counter