Children

We take away
their laughter,
we smother
all their tears,
we turn them
into robots
and fill them full
of fears.

They're steeped
in superstition
until they're all
the same,
their souls are
drowned
in garbage,
their bodies
stunned
with shame.

And when
their hearts
are empty,
when we've
strangled
all their screams,
we get them
hooked
on money

and the rainbow
new-age
dream.

Then when
their minds
have learned
to hate,
and there's
nowhere
left to run,
we tell them
"Follow orders!"
and give them
all a gun.

When you take
the fruit
of heaven,
and you leave
just one thin slice,
you'll wonder
why the fire's out

and the world
has turned to
ice.