Through the eyes of innocence,
Came the language of the truth
Yet most of us were too ignorant
To hear anything but a mumble,
We looked but never acknowledged
We spoke but never really listened
Until it was too late, the time passed
And just like ourselves before them,
There minds became warped by media.

Far too often we tell our young to grow-up,
That they know nothing, to act like adults,
Jealous that they still have their innocence
When we went to school and were educated
Taught that difference was always a bad thing
That science almost always had an explanation
That grown-ups were almost always right
And that children should be seen and not heard
That success was measured in printed paper
And that pain and suffering were just parts of life.

Our playground games were always based
On growing up, what we'd do later in life,
Cops and robbers, doctors and nurses,
Never fully understanding what it meant
To be a doctor, or the jail time a robber spent
The broken bones, the bruises and cuts,
The bills we pay, the needs and musts,
The lies, the hurt, the tears and the sorrow,
Saving every penny now for a brighter tomorrow,
That Christmas presents cost an absolute bomb,
And not delivered in a sleigh by father Christmas,
That our government would rather pay for weapons
Than build more homes for those suffering alone
On the cold, harsh streets of our broken home,
That from childhood we have very little hope,
Unless we are born to the privileged classes,
Yet still we must pay taxes to fund their education,
This broken shell of a country is the only legacy
That we will ever afford to leave to our children,
Yet still, what does it really matter, does it?

And yet we tell our children to grow up,
As we ignore the truth that comes from their lips
As we speak instead of listen, shout instead of talk
Forget the words that we spoke to our own parents,
Way back when it was us that were told to shut up,
The way that our teachers told us that we knew nothing,
And told us, and told us, and told us over and over again,
Until we eventually lost our innocence, and believed them.
If there is one message I could pass to the children of the world,
It would be to slow down, take your time, keep hold of your youth
Before the world corrupts you and you become......grown up!