Few & (an excerpt from) Statistic

By Zoe S. - 2024

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Few

They let few become many,

And let many become a few,

To them, we’re numbers

We’re voiceless and easy to abuse.

So narratives are thrown,

Our existence is marred

I know they don’t want me here

But, I can’t just keep my identity barred

No, believe what they say

Let us all live in fear

Let us all become their prey

While they plug the public’s ears

We’re not bad people

We’ve not been ‘led astray’

We’ve not been convinced

That bad things are okay.

But when few become many

And many become a few

All that they will see is

The misdeeds “we” do.

Their campaigns, their articles

Their stories made to sway

Have no better effect

Then making kids fear their 18th birthday.

Statistic

Nothing will come of this,

Nothing I write or make will enact change,

But I just don’t want another me to exist,

I don’t want another year of pain

Alas, It’s 2022 again, back where I started.

A breath and a slip away from

Being another number on a graph,

Another digit…

Another sad,

Sorrowful,

Preventable,

Statistic.