Teen Machine

We grew up in the ice age, Lived through the barricades, And swore never to raise our eyes again. But swore, again, Beneath our breath, That all your whips wouldn't tame us, That your metal wouldn't chain us, And that time would liberate us. Spent a lifetime digging mines, Then cutting trees, Then writing lines, And when frail Mother-hearts spoke out, Were they heard, When your lip spat out; "They've never had it better." Took two World Wars To separate the men from the boys, To grant young license to climb the Earth, Without a hod or cannon rounds, To speak in open sound. We all crawl through life, From all fours to four wheels, On insurance claims and holidays, And age. But bound tight in our man-made blindfold; "We're never growing old." On alcohol and lemonade, And vitriol and protease, And deaf to time's incessant clock, And geriatric plague, We grew up in the ice age, Lived through the barricades, And we will stay.