204800
Never had enough
Too many for most
Parental time barely at minimal.
On and off the streets
Can barely eat or sleep.
Passed from relative to relative
Until hands are thrown up
In disgust from lost trust.
A ward of the state
Because of words of hate
Instead of understanding and love.
Dignity and self respect
Are priced-less commodities
But at what cost?
A product of societal misfortune
Statistically branded,
Scapegoated and always
“Fitting the description”
Anything to keep them down.
5-0 supposed to protect and serve
Some do some don’t.
Some will some won’t.
Yet despite unfavorable odds when
Obstacles are purposely placed
Along pathways, they’re shown
How to overcome.
Having been mentored right
And taught how to fight justly,
They can see and feel hope
When others wouldn’t.
And learn to make a way
When others couldn’t.
They turn tables and tip the scales
When given opportunities
To prevail as their stumbling blocks
Become steppingstones.
And it’s with guiding hands
Futures lack not when we
Release the back of the seat.
A fulfillment of love and belief
Is what is needed as
All negativity is superseded.
No child should ever be without.
Show them how to give back
With a helping hand and
Pull the next one to their feet
Igniting faith and hope
Within their souls so much so
It becomes contagious.
When we teach our children
In the way they should go
They’ll never forget,
And as they teach the next,
We must continue this cycle
Reversing the domino effect
Until no juvenile is delinquent.
LP45 2/14
