They Are Our Future! Poem by Eric Cockrell

when a child is born
in a slum area, whether
it be assisted apartments,
trailer parks, low income
housing, or homelessness...
and he grows up amid hunger,
poverty, need, gunfire, drugs,
and street crime...
and the world he becomes an
adult in offers him little
chance for employment, or
education...
what do we expect?
what we often get is an angry
young man just looking for a way
to survive!

our young people most often become
the opportunity we leave for them.
we are responsible for their future.
for they are our future!

there are those who make their way
out of these abject conditions, and
go on to make the world a better place.
these should be our heroes!

but every child should have food,
shelter, a loving environment, an
equal opportunity for education, and
hope for employment! every child
should have an equal opportunity
to live his/or her, dream!

again, these children, are our future!
we are responsible!