The Awkward Phase Poem by David Welch

It's become so self-destructive,
the weakness of our modern times,
to the point it takes our children,
pollutes unformed, unready minds.
Now this was always a real risk,
but it seems in the decades past,
when young adults did something dumb
we'd quickly act to correct that,
not fear our children's reaction,
when we did our duty to say:
You are not ‘trans, ' you're probably not gay,
you're just going through an awkward phase.

It's not like this is something new,
there were ‘goth kids' back in my youth,
the 80s had the theater kids,
and their numbers were never few.
We've had the nerds for long decades,
who've long created great machines,
some folks out there never fit in,
we had a place for them, it seemed.
Now we let them cut off their junk,
a path littered by suicide?
We encourage the ‘outsiders'
to literally sterilize?
When most ‘weird kids' will find a place,
become good people who would say:
You are not ‘trans, ' you're probably not gay,
you're just going through an awkward phase.

We do no let our children drink,
don't let them vote, call their own shots,
don't let them drive or run their lives,
wxperience they have not got.
We hold their rights in trust because
their judgement is know to be sh-t,
they do stupid things all the thin,
most of then can't even help it.
They don't possess special knowledge,
regardless of what hippies say;
they are not ‘trans, ' they're probably not gay,
they're just going through an awkward phase.

Why do we tolerate those fools
who groom our children into this?
Teachers brag about doing so,
professors act as damn sophists.
These people know an adult mind
sees quite easily through such crap,
they target all the youthful ones,
there is an intention in that.
They're taking these jobs purposefully,
they post about this stuff online,
declaring that it's their mission
to influence all these young minds.
To make it seem like it's trendy,
that it will bring kids adult praise,
knowing young people crave such things,
have not the wits to see the play,
to know how long life really is,
and how different they will become...
They're evil, banking on the fact,
that all children are kind of dumb.
People like this deserve the rope,
not daily access to their prey,
the kids aren't ‘trans, ' they're probably not gay,
they're just going through an awkward phase.

And to the children reading this
who feel they don't know ‘who they are, '
this is nothing unusual,
life leaves everyone with some scars.
Nobody knows what they'll become
when you're muddling through their teens,
you brain is changing rapidly,
your troubles are not what they seem.
In five years you won't recognize
the person that you are right now,
the things that you think important
will make adult-you laugh out loud.
The troubles you think only you
can understand or comprehend
are nothing new, they've been gone through
by every grown woman or man.
You're parents know what you're living,
they have survived it all themselves,
you may not think they can help you,
but they know all of this too well.
It may not feel like they're in touch,
but you should listen when they say:
You are not ‘trans, ' you're probably not gay,
you're just going through an awkward phase.

It happens to all of us. Be patient, you'll grow out of it.