How messed up it is
That we live in a world
Where blue is for boys
And pink is for girls.
Where it’s better for men to have a gun
Than a doll.
Where it’s better for someone
To hurt themselves
Then to be any different at all.

Children are supposed to be scarecd
Of the clowns that are lurking in the streets
And the neighbor’s angry dog
That they think will bite them for a treat.
Of the shadows in the night,
The spooky stories told in the shade,
Now how angry dad might be
If they bring home a bad grade.

You used to protect them
From the monster under the bed,
You tell them “I love you, goodnight”
And give them a kiss on the head
But now that monster under the bed
Is protecting them from you.

In this society, you think it’s better
For a man to die
Then to be happy with his lover
Simply because that lover
Is also a guy.

You tell her she can’t be depressed
Because she’s too young.
You laugh, and say
She’s making it all up for fun
But being 12 isn’t stopping her
From holding a knife to her throat.
It isn’t stopping her from thinking
That there’s only one antidote.

Why can’t we take the time
We choose to spend on “They might be lying”
And take just one small second
To make sure that they aren’t dying.

You can only try to get someone
To listen so many times.
So instead they turn to crying,
Turn to drugs, to friends, to hiding.
Won’t come to you for help
Because you always ignored them before.
They’ll just desperately wait for the day
You can no longer keep them confined.