A Poem to the Rich Man

Hi, I'm Gen Z and I am Queer
Here are some of my biggest fears
This message is for the ultra-rich
There are some policies you should ditch

Lots of teens are suffering
Caskets, bloodshed, ushering
Trans teens aren't fake or ill
Or perverts seeking a thrill
They're just people like you or I
Hoping a gun won't be the reason they die

It's not a danger when a son becomes a daughter,
It's a danger when a gun is used to slaughter

Please stop using our existence
To avoid your own insistence
In ignoring the statistics
And fighting laws that register ballistics
Allowing sadistics to kill from a distance
Hiding behind tales so euphemistic
Telling lies, pretending we're nonexistent,
We die as you promote rights militaristic
Pushing for a government that's more feudalistic

Misogyny, homogeny
They reinforce conformity
Heteronormativity
Chokes creativity
Promotes negativity
Evokes objectivity
And hopes for captivity

It's become normality
This suffocating mentality
Correlating being free
With hating people like me

Capitalistic deformity
Alienates abnormity
A strange menagerie
Enflamed with hypocrisy
Living inside a theocracy
Disguised as a democracy
Thwarting the halls of bureaucracy
Resorting to courts creating policy
Expensive meds at the pharmacy,
Enlarges the monopsony
A consumerist commodity
Sold in a capitalistic society
The system's broken to the very core
Prices rise and rise and rise some more
Tax breaks given to the 1%
While we all struggle to pay for rent

The very system that gives them wealth
Charges us premiums for our health
A large pain in my side, I felt,
When I was riding on my bike and fell
It was quite a wound that, fall dealt,
But I can't afford to go get help
My family can't afford my insurance
Though I desperately need the procurance,
Of medication at the pharmacy
For all my problems mentally and physically
What happens if I gain a disability?
Will I be told coverage isn't guaranteed?
Will I be told it's not a human right
Unless I have the money to pay the price,
That I’m not valuable or worthy
Unless I provide for society?
I find myself asking ChatGPT
How many pills to take, two or three?
How can anyone disagree
Healthcare should be for those in need?

While we're on the topic of my pleas,
How does food require a fee?
I pay hundreds so that I can feed,
My budget’s so tight, my wallet bleeds
It's like charging people to breathe air,
People are starving in despair,
We have an excess, food's not rare
It'd be more efficient if we learned to share
We throw away half of our food,
Maybe that could go to better use
Let's give out clothes for people to wear
So they don't freeze under that bridge there
Let's provide housing for free
For those who can't afford the fee
Or victims of abuse who need to flee,
They have no home while you have nearly three
…point nine billion dollars in private property.
Meanwhile, no house is in my affordability.
I’ll probably never own a home,
Since all the land is becoming owned
By companies who, one day, hope
To overcharge me and work me to the bone

How will I live independently
In a world corrupt so demonstrably
Let's stop just advertising our despising
Let's start uprising and revising;
Deploying aid to the lower class,
Destroying the ceiling made of glass
Don't just tweet to Musk outraged
This is our time to make some change
Centralize our power and fight as one
Giving rise to equal rights for everyone.

What a day that would be,
To be able to be free
It won't happen realistically
But even a kid like me can dream
That is, if I could ever sleep,
Instead of lying in bed hearing screams

The nightmares are getting worse
My hardware is quite adverse
I need to be on HRT
But I'm told that's not for me
Maybe when I turn 18
And my body's long past puberty
Living in discomfort unnecessarily
Since I'm not allowed any agency
People call me he/him/his,
Refuse to call me her or miss,
I settle for they/them/their,
But then people just offer to give me prayer

When getting help isn't that common
Feeling helpless is a big problem
Without receiving help from Medicare
While needing wealth to get basic care
My FYP is a sign
My mental health is in decline
People tell me not to whine
But therapy seems so benign
My parents will say that I'm fake
Until the day that I break
Maybe even run away
Just so that I can escape
Where to escape? I do not know
Unless it's reshaped, this world's a shitshow.

I feel trapped inside this endless maze
While global warming sets us ablaze
The riches of men profiteer
My future burns as I cry tears
The solution, of course, is very clear
Reduce emissions in 50 years
For the people who will still be here
You can make a difference with your career
Make the future better and be revered
As a historical pioneer,
instead of a villain who interfered.

Rich-Man hear me when I say,
There are other ways to be entertained,
You don't have to be full of hate,
Imagine the future you could create
You could turn around this very day,
Apologize and commit to making change
You could profit from a different thing,
A better future, you could bring.

Please consider the people who live here,
On this planet—be they straight or queer,
We all matter and we all fear,
For our world which could disappear.
We fear for our safety in our schools,
Just as you wouldn't want to be a blood pool,
We need access to therapists,
Not told that we're all full of shit,
We need better workers' rights
Not be forced to go on strikes,
To be treated fairly and paid well
Not watch the rich hold all the wealth.
We need de-escalation and better laws
Not racist cops that'll break our jaws
Or worse, simply shoot us dead
Before being dished a slap on the wrist

But be honest, just for once
You watch us suffer just for fun
You don't want to learn or change or grow or stop
You want to shoot us at a range, make our heads pop
You want to mow us down into mush
Then turn around and insult our guts
Isn't that what you said?
You could shoot a man in the head,
Slaughter on Main Street as a joke
And you wouldn't lose any votes?

You aren't going to make amends,
Or even try to pretend
That you care about any of us
Since you profit off us getting fucked.

Our misery is your gain
We're stuck inside your game
The system was built to give you power
While we burn in your hellfire

There are lots of things that need to change,
Hating on LGBT people is deranged,
Locking up immigrants is quite strange,
When you're the one who should be in chains.

Fuck you. Thank you for reading :)