My nephew is tolerant and fair
Not impressed with a sea of dyed hair
His high school teachers think he's a gem
But he's dismayed by kids wanting to be called they/them.
My niece had a problem with the school bathroom
Other girls vaping marijuana, can't stop, I assume.
I myself don't think it nice
To tell kids to go out and protest ICE.
(chorus)
It's past time we leave the kids alone
Let their worldview start at home
Don't try to reshape them by degrees.
Concentrate on teaching ABC's.
The NEA says teachers must push "gender, class and race."
Seems to me that they are talking out of place.
We spend over 20,000 per student nationwide.
But with those math scores, teachers should hide.
(bridge)
Kids learn slogans, learn what to say,
But can’t explain how loans accrue each day.
Teach them how to think, not what to think,
Then let the cause pushers into the rink.
(final chorus)
It's past time we leave the kids alone
Let their worldview start at home
Let their spirit be carefree
Replace those gender posters with ABC.
"How about it daddy,"
show me the way,
how you roll that paper,
you make it slay.
"How about it daddy,"
you smell so funny,
is that the reason,
you look so crummy?
"How about it daddy,"
you sleep all day,
you seem so grumpy,
I think you should pray.
"How about it daddy,"
Is it true what mommy say,
that you love smoking,
more than you love yahwey.
Young me took this to heart:
“Love many,
Trust few,
And always paddle
your own canoe”
Now I paddle my canoe
In icy waters
Far from my youth
and my many lovers
not one of whom
I trusted.
I know I am privileged
when I see water in your eyes
One smell, one scene, one sound
- a flashback,
which only you can see
Only you can wear, the scar
that goes where you go,
it can never be erased,
it is eternally buried beneath you
but never completely hidden away
A part of your life, a moment
a memory - a journey
That you have traversed and inked,
mentally, physically and emotionally
We speak of our scars -
when we can, we wear them with pride
They are important in the making of who we are
As your eyes dabble or swim in the water
it is your soul expressing something important,
an impression that is forever yours
I am privileged - my soul wants to reach for yours,
to ease your torment, this emotional pain
My eyes want to swim with yours,
not because I know what you are feeling or remembering,
but because I am there for you, I feel sadness
In all of your incredible strength, I know
that in this moment no strength can stop
what needs to be released from within -
that's how these moments are important - impressionable.
Your Words in my Head
They tangle up in my thoughts
Till they become mine
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