middle school angst

middle school angst(aNG(k)st,äNG(k)st)

By Henrry Walker

carry(ˈkarē) the flag? me?

our middle schoolers can be loved,
capable, skilled in sport and class,
well-liked by friends, positive forces(fôrs) for a world
that ought to “get them,” appreciate(əˈprēSHēˌāt) them, support them,
yet something is wrong,
the snake(snāk) of self-doubt(dout) slithers(ˈsliT͟Hər) through their sureness:
fear of what might happen,
anxiety(aNGˈzī-itē) when product or friend falters(ˈfôltər),
feeling the disturbance(disˈtərbəns) in the Force
when political(pəˈlitikəl) leaders don’t lead us toward a future
where climate(ˈklīmit) change is resisted(riˈzist), bills paid, hate(hāt) rejected,
inequities(inˈekwitē) of income, skin color, orientation(ˌôrēənˈtāSHən), gender,
considered worth the effort to resolve(rəˈzälv) toward a dream of equality(iˈkwälitē),

it must be hard to awake toward adulthood(əˈdəlt)
and then to realize that so many adults in charge
are not yet ready to be worth the respect an elder ought to deserve,

how unfair to the children
to have to grow up too fast,
since so many who run the country have not yet grown up,

I understand the cracks(krak) within the self-confidence
that allow self-doubt and worry to worm(wərm) their way in,
but I also believe that the young can be of “the kingdom of Heaven,”
I feel for them as they have to grow up in a world
that needs their rightness to release(riˈlēs) itself,
that needs them to pick up the flag and carry it forward,
since the earlier bearers(ˈbe(ə)rər) have fallen.

https://henryspoetry.blogspot.com/2018/09/middle-school-angst.html