DIVIDED WE COLLAPSE - FORGOTTEN KIDS

They told us to dream bigger. They told us we could be anything. But every door felt locked Before we even reached it. I grew up on streets where ambition felt dangerous, Where people laughed if you talked about getting out. Where broken windows stayed broken for years, And everybody learned to keep their heads down. Teachers told us to believe in ourselves. The city told us something else. Every headline painted the same picture, And somehow we were expected to live inside it. They knew our neighborhoods. They knew our statistics. But they never stopped long enough To learn our names. WE WERE NEVER THE HEADLINES THEY WROTE ABOUT! WE WERE THE KIDS STILL TRYING TO FIND A WAY OUT! THEY SAID OUR FUTURE WAS DECIDED FROM THE START! BUT THEY NEVER SAW THE FIRE BURNING IN OUR HEARTS! WE ARE THE FORGOTTEN KIDS! STILL STANDING WHEN THE DUST SETTLES DOWN! WE ARE THE FORGOTTEN KIDS AND WE REFUSE TO DROWN! I watched friends give up before they turned eighteen. Not because they wanted to. Because they stopped believing. Every rejection felt heavier than the last one. Every closed door sounded louder than before. Some found trouble. Some found escape. Some disappeared into places Nobody talks about anymore. And some of us kept fighting Even when fighting felt pointless. It’s hard to believe in tomorrow When nobody expects you to have one. WE WERE NEVER THE HEADLINES THEY WROTE ABOUT! WE WERE THE KIDS STILL TRYING TO FIND A WAY OUT! THEY SAID OUR FUTURE WAS DECIDED FROM THE START! BUT THEY NEVER SAW THE FIRE BURNING IN OUR HEARTS! WE ARE THE FORGOTTEN KIDS! STILL STANDING WHEN THE DUST SETTLES DOWN! WE ARE THE FORGOTTEN KIDS! AND WE REFUSE TO DROWN! YOU LOOKED AT US AND SAW A NUMBER! YOU LOOKED AT US AND MADE A JUDGMENT! YOU LOOKED AT US AND CLOSED THE DOOR! THEN ASKED US WHY WE STOPPED KNOCKING! WE WERE NEVER THE PROBLEM! WE WERE THE WARNING SIGNS! OF EVERYTHING YOU CHOSE TO LEAVE BEHIND! Maybe we were never forgotten. Maybe we were simply overlooked. Because it’s easier to discuss a problem Than it is to understand it. But we’re still here. Still dreaming. Still trying. Still refusing to become The people you expected us to be. WE WERE NEVER THE HEADLINES THEY WROTE ABOUT! WE WERE THE KIDS STILL TRYING TO FIND A WAY OUT! THEY SAID OUR FUTURE WAS DECIDED FROM THE START! BUT THEY NEVER SAW THE FIRE BURNING IN OUR HEARTS! WE ARE THE FORGOTTEN KIDS! STILL STANDING WHEN THE DUST SETTLES DOWN! WE ARE THE FORGOTTEN KIDS! AND WE REFUSE TO DROWN! WE REFUSE TO DROWN! They’ll remember the statistics. They’ll remember the headlines. But maybe someday They’ll remember the kids behind them.