Innocence of Youth

To be held in high regards by mates
I’ve often obeyed what their law dictates –
The law authorised to decide
What to show and what to hide,
The law that promises a lot better,
The law they call peer pressure.

Pushing myself to ends of discomfort,
Not the least bit of lack in my effort,
I’ve called myself one of them;
I’ve tried to be part of them.
I look like them now;
A stranger, I am now.

Youth, in all innocence, is benign,
The exploiting world is what’s malign.
I wish I had the needed insight,
I wish I had the wisdom right.
Youthful innocence, it’s the truth;
Is the reason why, I’m uncouth.

Buds should’ve an armour on the out,
So they bloom in time, without a doubt.
The winds won’t shake them off
Beaks of birds won’t peck them off
But nature doesn’t function that way,
Likewise, wisdom, from youth, stays away.

I despise this new person, I’ve come to be;
Miles of animosity, between her and me…

– Cynic