We are the survivors
Of the political scandals
Of the seventies
Of the yuppies
Of the eighties
And the recession
Of the nineties
Now we are fighting
Crime, drugs and all of societies ills
That until now,
Have been closeted
Hidden
From prying eyes
We are surviving the backlash
Of open sexuality and drugs
Of feminine oppression
And the advancement of technology
Our grandparents worshipped
The Gods of Radio
Our parents worshipped
Howdy Doody and the Mickey Mouse Club
The Gods of Television
We bow down
To the Internet Gods
World as small as a dime
Nestled
In a gray plastic box
Our windows to the outside
Outside
A world raging
With AIDS and cancer
Famine and terrorism
And all the Saddam Hussein-type
Maniacal Demons
We fight
For the right to breathe
In our own space
As we reside
In 60-story skyscrapers
Blocking a smog filled sky
We fight
Against the phobias
Homophobia
Agoraphobia
The social phobias
Drugs
Disease
War
People
Depression
Sex
AIDS
People
Everything once hidden
Is exposed
For us to handle
Abuse
Abortion
Fear
We are the survivors
Of our parents mistakes
We fight to hear
Our own voices
Grow stronger
Against
Those trying to subdue us
Telling us
We are too young
To understand
Too young
To make a difference
Copyright © 2000 by Jenna Brown