The Mass Murder of Children

The stars in our eyes have long faded by now,

The butterflies in our stomachs lay dormant and dead on the leaves.

Our hearts, hearts that once were so adamant in their quest to keep beating,

Have now stilled, churning out one beat a minute if we're lucky.

The world has destroyed us, finally accomplished its ultimate goal to assimilate us into adulthood.

Toy trucks lay smashed in the road.

Bouncy balls and balloons have been popped and deflated, crushed under the foot of society.

Candy, donuts, cakes, they all rest in the locked closet next to our old Halloween costumes,

Soon to be cremated and swiftly forgotten.

The children are dead in the streets,

Their blood staining the pavement like the chalk drawings we agonized over.

And from the bodies emerge new ones,

Cranked out like a robot on an assembly line.

We are ready now, to join society, to be a part of the world, and above all to become

Useful.