To be young again is sometimes my dream,
to be an innocent child led by someone's hand.
Naive and clueless about the world,
but most of all, with sincerity.
So why do they all jump to conclusions,
and think I'm weird, a threat, a danger?
I believe in health and safety, just like you,
not doing what would damage others.
I already worry all the time if I'm being
a model citizen, a perfect cog in society,
while problems lurk in the back of my head
and forcing a mask up on my face.
Can't I sometimes take a break?
What with how much we get assaulted,
by makeup, manners and media:
Be independent, but stay loyal to organizations!
Be in control, but impulse buy pointless items!
Look young and fresh, but don't look too adolescent!
Manipulate others, but keep it silent and hidden,
and society will reward you, the lurking exploiter.
The kind that makes you fear for a missed minute
or say the wrong word and look bad for your boss.
Those soulless leeches squeezing you dry,
fucking you every month in the name of consumption:
producing and spending, extorting and dangling the carrot
causing an inhuman, unsympathetic, unloving existence.
Tell me again who exploits others in this world where:
Everywhere we go is soulless, manipulated production.
Everyone we speak to are scared to be themselves.
Everything we think is controlled by silent societal rules.
Is it really that strange then that I want to revert?
To a simpler, ignorant and more innocent time,
where personality and growth is respected,
nurtured, cared for, and encouraged.
But most of all, you are loved for who you are.
Let me go back to my own idealized place,
and still play by human rules and values.
Let me be my own age and pretend for myself,
and still place limits like you want me to.
I will treat everyone with respect, so please treat me with respect too.
I only want to return to my safe space, one that I never had.
