Here today...

Another smiling face that tells me
I am not valued or important
and my suffering and the suffering of my
loved ones is something we
just have to deal with
alone, unhelped, disregarded.
That frankly if we all went off
to quietly end it all
it would probably be a relief
to all unconcerned
with our welfare
because none of us are children
anymore
and so we have no intrinsic value.

The poems we write
the songs composed
the books we produce
are nothing and will not be missed
by the smiling faces who seem to think
that people aged under eighteen
are the only people worth anything
that a strange transition
happens and across one second
a valuable child, a precious child
loses all worth and becomes an adult.

So here I am making a small noise
banging a small drum
and wondering why
everyone doesn’t see
that we are all children
and always will be?