I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving, hysterical, naked, …

crippled by concern for their children’s well being, shot through with fear, play outside doubtful,

loose cannons put holes where there shouldn’t be any

scraping for advantage or washed over by life, forget their choices, making plan after plan, never realized

carried on backs of teachers, left behind for an ideal, faces tattooed with numbers, less than fifty meaning less

learn whether we teach or not, cry whether we care or not, climb trees of diminishing opportunities until, they cling to limbs too thin to hold them and they fall at the feet of

America

who could always pick up a fallen child, no matter the parent, no matter the sub-group, no matter their past, because of their future means more than we know

_______________
Thanks to Jose Vilson for this brilliant idea for a summer time post
Now I will tag just a couple people, hopefully at least one of the
The TLN Bloggers, and TMAO

photo from: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/75/166940910_14a96e3508.jpg?v=0
by Not Emily