Poetic by Eli Oko

I’ll be honest

There’s nothing poetic

About the way stress manipulates every thought and feeling

Causing actions to become

“Out of character”

For someone who was just trying to find their identity

I don’t see the art in the scars they leave on their bodies

I see pain and anguish

They, are no calls for help

They, are the silent things she’s been shouting all along

In the 10 minutes late for class

In the skipping dinner time with family

And the last seen two days ago on WhatsApp

It’s not rhyming when the goals and ambitions she has can be accessed virtually

Through the “friends” she found through mutual associates

It’s the lack of security online

Despite guidelines and age restrictions

She’ll find herself typing numbers she is yet to see

And as the thought trails through her mind

Words utter from her lips

And her fingers etch it into her keyboard

It leaves us all to witness the separation stage

The youth reducing themselves to what is labelled as –

Nothing

But in the form of flowing emotions

Critical view points

And a desire to release and create

Characters they dream of while they are awake

If I’m brutally honest

It’s all far from poetic

“It’s nothing”

It’s just a way of them, finding them

“It’s nothing”

It’s just the reaction from every action society took to build tomorrow

“It’s nothing”

THIS phase will pass and this generation will thrive

“It’s nothing”

We are just putting power into the hand of the powerless

With no guidelines or direction

Just a potential interception if they become too far gone

“It’s nothing”

Just another teen looking for the art in her veins

Because at the start of the day no one questioned why that girl on the bus had tears in her eyes

And as she arrived 10 minutes late for class it’s just a bad start of another day

As she skips another meal with her family

It’s just another way for them to say

That last seen 2 days ago on WhatsApp is not equivalent to 24 hours in reality

We won’t search for her until then

No, until then

There is “nothing” wrong with her

Please tell me what is right

Or at least tell me what does she have left?

I’ll be honest

THIS is far from poetic.