I found this little gem of a poem in an old notebook (my Nothing Book) where I used to write down random thoughts and stories when I was a teenager. I somehow managed to keep that book since that time. Honestly, I had completely forgotten about it. When I re-read it, I recalled a memory of my 14 or 15 year old self sitting on a bus at nighttime, full of angst, when a flash of inspiration hit me. Compelled to find paper and pen, I wrote down the thoughts that were pouring out of me.
Looking at it now with adult eyes, it was not great. The memory of my writing it did make me smile.
Take it for whatever it is worth…
Without Strangers
Man created a world
that didn’t allow strangers
or dominating forces.
Everyone conforms to the norms
He created as his face.
The scars of his face became rigid.
His looks destroying;
His thoughts controlled;
His future proposed.
Man destroyed a planet,
that didn’t allow strangers.
As a side note, after reading some of the other stuff I wrote back in Grade 9 and 10, I also recalled some of the big stuff that was happening in the world at the time: the Cold war with the Soviet Union; the nuclear arms race; famine throughout the world; and, huge pollution concerns. I think it was around that Lake Erie was considered a dead lake due to pollution.
Then, I also remembered a survey that was done of Grade 12 students that asked them about their hopes, dreams, and plans for the future. A disproportionately high number of respondents cited that they didn’t believe that they would live to retire due to the likelihood of nuclear war. It felt like an ever present possibility back then that world as we knew it would end, and looking back, much of my writing from that time reflects that.