Under 21 Poem by Randy McClave

I can work in a coal mine or a factory
Furnaces I can feed and stoke,
I will breathe in their deadly fumes
But, I am still to young to smoke.
I might get black lung or cancer,
But, I'm not 21 is my answer.

If enlisted or if I am ever drafted
For a war against my country had begun,
I am trained and prepared to fight and die
But, I am still to young to carry a gun.
I wonder when I am on the battlefield,
If I'll wear a sign sayin, "I'm 18 please yield".

I am too young to go to the bars
I am too young to legally have an alcoholic drink,
But, I pay taxes and I can be drafted
Why!should I do either, as I think.
I am to young to live as I sigh,
But, I am young enough to be taxed and die.

I can buy a car or a motorcycle
As an adult I feel as an adult and grown,
I can own a computer and a television
But, soon I might not be able to own a cellphone.
My life could have came and gone,
Just because, I am not 21.

Randy L. McClave