Getting It Right

Getting It Right

Children look at the world
With the kind of wonder
Adults scoff at as naivety.

Children embrace their fellow human being
With an unconditional sense of inclusion;
Adults teach them to be "more selective."

Children learn with the fervor
Of an open mind;
Adults box them in with test scores.

Children laugh and coo, giggle and drool
Using only the words Adults teach them
And Adults say the meanest things.

Adults insult one another
With the word "childish,"
Insisting that the target of their cruelty grow up,

But have you ever stopped to think
That being childish would mean
Being better.

It would mean you still have wonder
And therefore hope
For a world in desperate need.

It would mean your heart still beats
To the rhythm of love for one another,
Which has become a trait rarer than gold in Adults.

It would mean you still want to learn
Purely for the sake of learning,
Having successfully fought off intellectual complacency.

It would mean you're still genuine
With the emotions you show on your face and in your words,
Not having to resort to hashtags and emojis.

Put simply, yet profoundly
Much like a child would state:
Children get it right...
and then they become adults.